Five video games newsletters worth reading, 06/02/2025
Celebrating 100 issues of VGIM by telling you to read something else
This week’s Video Games Industry Memo is sponsored by PXN
PXN powers the world’s biggest gaming and tech campaigns with award-winning asset management solutions across PR & marketing.
Ready to elevate your digital PR? Request a demo today: pxn.world
I tip a load of video games newsletters for you to pop into your inbox
US games trade body says that Trump tariffs on Taiwan will hurt games fans
Rift of the Necrodancer gets in the groove to top the week’s releases
Hello VGIM-ers,
Welcome to the 100th edition of Video Games Industry Memo. It is fair to say I’ve had a lot of fun reaching this landmark.
Over the past 18 months, I’ve learned a lot about the art of newslettering.
Do keep to a schedule. Do appreciate the value of a good format. And always refer to any subject matter expert as a boffin.
But while I think I’ve got a lot of things right with VGIM, there’s plenty I’ve got wrong too.
So to try to make things better for the next 100 newsletters, I’m making a few tweaks. The changes include:
Shaving at least 20% off the word count of the Big Read for the sake of everyone’s sanity.
Tightening VGIM’s focus to make sure it always covers the political, economic and media stories shaping the games business around the world.
Rejigging the VGIM Insider scheme from April and providing more value to free readers by opening up more channels for community engagement.
I’ll provide more details on the final two points in due course, especially in regards to the VGIM Insider subscription offering.
But for now, let me end on a note of genuine thanks.
Writing Video Games Industry Memo has changed my life. Since I started it, I went from being a schmuck with an idea for a regular newsletter to a schmuck with a few thousand subscribers and a book deal.
Talk about growth, eh?
But however much I kid myself, I know I wouldn’t have been so dedicated to writing this newsletter if I didn’t know that so many of you were out there reading it (and, in some deeply disturbing cases, actually enjoying it).
So thank you for opening VGIM, for taking the time to flip through it and for the kind words many of you have shared about it. I hope that I can reward your faith in it, and me, in the years ahead.
And now to escape my deeply British sense of awkwardness about expressing my feelings, let’s get into a Big Read offering some seriously biggggggg reading.
The big read - Five video games newsletters worth reading
I was at an event last week when someone jokingly asked me how things were going in the video games “newsletter wars.”
And while the comment was made in jest, I will admit that it has felt a little bit like we’re in the midst of a new media arms race.
The collapse of the traditional games industry trade press, the emergence of a plethora of newsletter platforms as part of the creator economy and changing reader habits has transformed the humble email into a powerful news tool.
But with more newsletters popping up each and every day, it is increasingly difficult to keep on top of the regular dispatches worth reading.
So in the spirit of camaraderie (and definitely not to fill a last minute gap in my content schedule that emerged earlier this week), I’m using the centurion edition of VGIM to tip you off to some of my favourite games newsletters from across the biz.
Enjoy!
Best for breaking news - Game File
Stephen Totilo’s Game File is the best newsletter for anyone wanting to stay on top of breaking news within the industry each week.
Totilo’s got a few big advantages that makes him the ideal person to be on the industry pulse. His contact book is immense, his work ethic is prodigious (whacking out at least three missives each week) and he’s mastered the format for delivering properly punchy newsletters following his stint at Axios.
As a result of this, Game File’s become one of the places to get scoops on the games biz. In just one year of reporting, Stephen has broken numerous stories such as the record breaking development cost of the Call of Duty series and discovering that Netflix was shuttering one of its flagship Triple A studios.
Game File isn’t the most analytical newsletter around because it must, by its very nature, land in inboxes with alarming consistency.
But for those of you looking for a post-Twitter newswire, it’s well worth forking out for a Game File subscription when you get the chance.
Best for artificial intelligence - AI and Games
Regular readers of VGIM will know that I have struck up a good working relationship with Tommy Thompson from AI and Games. And the reason why I’ve done it is simple: because he’s bloody good at what he does.
In the rolling, baffling and confusing sea of AI hype, AI and Games is the lighthouse that reassuringly blinks from the shoreline - guiding you towards actual insight about how a key part of the industry works.
Tommy’s newsletter builds on ten years of work on his YouTube channel (and over two decades of academic expertise) to accessibly explain how game AI gubbins actually works. His recent guide to Utility AI is a prime example of how clearly he is able to introduce, contextualise and teach tricky topics from scratch.
But his work has extended beyond education to include thoughtful commentary on the wider state of AI. And as demonstrated ably with his recent breakdown of the UK government’s copyright consultation, Tommy reminds us that the most thoughtful critics are often those with the sharpest minds.
If you’re not deeply immersed in game AI, you may find the newsletter a bit full on to read every week. But for those who are dabbling in the field or are knee deep in all things artificial intelligence, it’s hard to find a better resource out there.
Best for mobile games - mobilegamer.biz
Neil Long has achieved what few others have done so in the past five years. He’s built a new trade press outlet from nothing and it’s thriving.
Having previously worked as an editor for Apple - as well as for trade outlets like MCV, Edge and Official Nintendo Magazine - Neil has used his insight to turn mobilegamer.biz into a steady source of sector specific intel.
The main website has developed a track record for consistently churning out handy mobile games market data, notable job moves and lists of games in sneaky soft launch.
It also has the inside track on a number of stories shaping the mobile games biz, including sweary executive grumbling about Unity’s infamous Runtime Fee and developer unrest with Apple Arcade.
And while the newsletter predominantly serves as an engine through which to support the main site, Neil’s Substack churns out a fresh piece of paid subscriber content every Friday for those who support it - allowing you to trade off a bit of your cash in return for a handy ongoing service. Nice!
A message from our sponsor PXN: Trusted by industry leaders like Nintendo, EA, NVIDIA, and Xbox, PXN delivers secure asset management, driving blockbuster launches and redefining global PR strategies.
Olly McGowan, CTO at PXN, comments, "Staying ahead of client needs while ensuring a secure, seamless experience has always been our top priority. This year we’re pleased to announce we’re leveling-up our offering with some major updates that will transform the PXN experience."
Ready to elevate your digital PR? Request a demo today: pxn.world
Best for understanding the PC market - GameDiscoverCo
Ah, GameDiscoverCo. Is it a newsletter or is it the key to an incredibly handy library of data and resources that makes navigating the PC games market a heck of a lot easier?
The answer is that it’s a little of both. On the free newsletter side of the fence, GameDiscoverCo provides plenty of inside baseball chatter about how exactly video games get discovered.
As well as consistently providing a treasure trove of interesting data tidbits at the top of each mailer, Simon Carless and the team also have a knack for getting interesting independent developers to natter about their success stories or providing benchmarks on what good looks like for most game developers.
And for those willing to part with their cash, GameDiscoverCo gives its paid subscribers plenty of behind the scenes value.
Alongside delivering extra subscriber only newsletters, it also hands you access to a data suite analysing tens of thousands of games on Steam, access to an exclusive Discord server and a load of evergreen ebooks to guide your business forward. Handy, eh?
Of course, if you’re not selling a game on Steam then the value of the GameDiscoverCo newsletter will be more limited.
But if you do want to look more deeply into the ins and outs of the most popular PC games store in the world, it’s a cracking place to get started.
Best for understanding community management - The Community Dev Newsletter
Finally, Victoria Tran’s Community Dev newsletter is one of the best resources around for anyone who is navigating the world of community management in the video games industry.
As pitched on the sign up page, Victoria’s newsletter offers its readers a load of useful marketing tips, regular resource dumps to sift through and easy access to every article she posts on her personal website.
But the reason why it is such an invaluable read is the clarity of the advice on offer. Whether it’s her sensitive guide to managing failure in public or her more mechanical tips on how TikTok discoverability intersects with SEO, she has the rare ability to communicate expertise without ever talking down to a reader.
And while the discipline of community management may only be one aspect of the games business, Victoria’s guidance - which, of course, is rooted in her years of experience managing the chaotic Among Us community - is pretty handy for marketers working across a range of fields. Top stuff.
Honourable mentions
If you’re looking for someone who really gets the business end of the, erm, games business, then Joost van Dreunen’s SuperJoost is well worth adding to your reading list.
For anyone exploring the intersection between music and games, Mat Ombler’s monthly MusicEXP Newsletter is a delightfully comprehensive look at the way two creative fields combine (and, occasionally, smack heads with one another).
As someone who previously ran a national trade association’s responsible play campaign and hated the absolute lack of good games writing aimed at parents, Patrick Klepek’s Crossplay fills a major gap in the market with insight and grace.
For those of you of a media planning persuasion, James Whatley’s Five Things On Friday always has an interesting video game deep dive amidst a wider treasure trove of delights. Just don’t necessarily expect it to actually arrive on Friday (sorry James…)
And of course, The Guardian’s Pushing Buttons newsletter is a breezy consumer friendly read that keeps you abreast of what’s going on in the industry and engaged with wider video games culture.
The Bluffer’s Guide to Video Games Newsletters
Do say: Video games newsletters offer an increasingly deep look at all aspects of an intriguing industry, providing rich insight about a sector whose cultural, economic and social significance continues to rise.
Don’t say: *to the tune of England til I Die* “we’re VGIM ‘til we die, we’re VGIM ‘til we die…”
News in brief
Less than Tariff-ic: The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has warned that Donald Trump’s plan to whack hefty tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could “negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans” by raising the cost of games devices. The ESA also claimed that a punitive tariff regime would “harm the industry’s significant contributions to the US economy.” Eeep.
Incubation nation: A new report from the House of Lords has warned that the UK will only be able to act as an “incubator economy” unless it does more to support AI and Creative Tech start-ups. I’m including this in here because it is a rare report that understands you should put more money into games due to all the tasty spillover effects you can generate off the back of the industry.
Sumo Wrestling: Sumo Group has announced that it is refocusing Sumo Digital to ensure it works "exclusively on development services for partners” - ending the company’s efforts to create its own intellectual property in the process. Further details are scarce on the ground at the moment, with the company simply stating that the move will have “an impact on our studios and people.” Not good…
Educa-shunned: UK education trade site FE Week has asked whether the esports courses offered by over 100 further education colleges in the country provide any meaningful value. While I do think it's important to develop talent within games and esports, I have to admit that I currently side with the sceptics over the subject’s likely long-term usefulness. Sorry…
Surprise, surprise (mechanics): Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has dropped a new paper examining how young people gamble, including exploring the ways they interact with loot boxes and skin betting. Ollie Ring takes a measured look at its findings over on Esprouts, achieving the rare balance of delivering punchy conclusions while properly analysing some of the issues with the paper’s methodology too. See, it can be done!
Moving on
Brian Foote has been appointed CEO of Fireshine Games…Teemu Närhi is back as CEO at Finnish funsters Fingersoft…Brent Blazek is the new Growth Lead at Metacore…Nadine Seibold is now Senior Public Relations Consultant at SZ Scala…Isabel Hamblin has joined Bastion as their new Senior Account Executive…And Wayne Emanuel has scored a consulting gig with the Make A Wish Foundation to support their games team…
Jobs ahoy
Microsoft is hiring a Minecraft Product Marketing Manager in Redmond…Discord is snapping up a Platform Policy Expert, Platform Integrity to support its team in San Francisco…Niantic is recruiting an Emerging Markets Manager, Asia/MENA to work from its London office…Virtuous is looking for a Senior/Regional Marketing Manager in Dublin…And if you’ve ever fancied living in Gothenburg, Thunderful Games can give you a lovely job as a Social Media Manager in the Swedish city…
Events and conferences
Yorkshire Games Fest, Bradford - 10th-25th February
DICE Summit, Las Vegas - 11th-13th February
Guildford Games Festival, Guildford - 14th February
devcomm leadership summit, Lisbon - 19th-21st February
Game Developers Conference, San Francisco - 17th-21st March
Games of the week
Rift of the Necrodancer - Guitar Hero inspired spin off to popular musical dungeon crawling game tunes up on Steam this week.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - Medieval role-playing game with a name that sounds like someone reading out football scores badly arrives on PC, PS5 and Xbox.
A Game About Digging A Hole - The Ronseal of video games.
Before you go…
What’s better than going to an art gallery? Going to a virtual art gallery located in a popular video game, that’s what.
Yes, a recently released mod to popular FPS Doom allows you to live out your art appreciating dreams - letting you ditch your double barrelled shotgun for a delicious glass of Barolo instead. Cheers!