iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

What an uninformed take. I'm kind of flabbergasted that Hawley would be this out of touch in 2026. It's one thing to say that gameplay offers unique agency parallel to narrative, but to say that players are uninterested in narrative is such a miss. Even Ebert knew better than this in the mid 00's.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I have procured G A M E R D R A N K

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

For my academic/industry friends, I'll be in Prague between October 6-12, so let me know if you'd like to catch up!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

To be fair, until we see it play out, all of our takes are speculative, and I'm seeing a lot of my industry/academic discords debating what this means. I just have no faith in companies learning another industrial design method than layoffs, consolidation and restructuring.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

There's gonna be confusion about what "expand its remit" really means. The language being nebulous blunts industrial critique by playing the "but it's not layoffs" card. You can't expand remit in one place, without reducing it in another, making someone redundant. news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/0...

news.xbox.com

Continuing Our Reset

This message was just sent to Team XBOX employees globally. Team, I’m writing to share several updates as part of the XBOX reset outlined earlier this year. First, we are eliminating 268 roles across ...

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I read this as "your responsibilities now include what X studio employee used to cover", which I can only read as redundancies at mid or upper management levels. Probably not a full legal merger under the line, rather different branches reporting to less management that wields more authority.

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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

We take video games seriously. From Tetris to PONG, to theories on rules, play, and game design, here's some of the best scholarship to read this #VideoGamesDay 🎮 : mitpress.mit.edu/national-vid... @flantz.bsky.social @jaakkostenros.bsky.social @montola.bsky.social

Six book covers on a light blue background. Books included: "Bounce" by Carlin Wing, "The Rule Book" by Jaakko Stenros and Markus Montola, "King PONG" by Raiford Guins, "The Beauty of Games" by Frank Lantz, "Soviet Blocks" by Julien Mailland, and "The Well-Played Game" by Bernard De Koven.

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Joost van Dreunen @superjoost.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Promoting the new is great, but what if people prefer to buy the old? In the first half of 2026, Steam generated $11.1 billion in revenue, up $1.41 billion from the previous year. Yet none of that growth came from new releases.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Presenting our work #G4C2026 was equally heartening, and I can't wait to see how the full white paper lands with folks. If you want to learn more about the project, please feel free to reach out, whether you're in academia, press, gamedev or an audience member.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

This past year has been incredible. Getting to work with folks from @dorisdukefdn.bsky.social and @gamesforchange.bsky.social, as well as the many game developers and educators who've been speaking with us has been the highlight of my career.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I've been taking some time off over the back half of the summer to recharge, but happy to announce that I'll be continuing on as the Postdoctoral Fellow on the Islam & Games Project based out of Concordia University, into 2027.

Andrei on stage at Games for Change, with title slide for the Islam and Games Project

Andrei presenting the valence of representations of Islam in the study, split into Positive, Negative, Neutral and Mixed representation.

Andrei presenting the project's 3D model: standing for Density, Diversity and Depth.

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Jessica Cogswell 🌸 @jessicogs.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Without good journalists, it’s alllll just PR—and I feel like that should terrify people SO much more than it does.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Congratulations! This is awesome news!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

The response to our work on Islam and Games has been, honestly, overwhelming. You always hope the work will resonate with people, but this was beyond any expectations. White paper coming soon! A special thank you to @gamesforchange.bsky.social and @dorisdukefdn.bsky.social for their support!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

We're on on July 22nd, from 12:00 to 12:45, so if you're around the Festival drop by! A quick thank you as well to the Doris Duke foundation and Games for Change for their support this last year! P.S. Don't worry if you can't make it, we'll be sharing findings more publicly soon!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Off to Games for Change's G4C Festival to present findings on the Islam & Games Project with Mia Consalvo. We'll be sharing early findings about representations of Muslim peoples and Islam in the top 50 games from 2004-2024 (along with how we arrived at that list).

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Rudolf Thomas INDERST (he|him) @gamestudies.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

It's a great pleasure to talk to games researcher and scholar STEFAN HÖLTGEN about his book "Commodore 64. Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" for my podcast #GameStudies. 🤩 newbooksnetwork.com/commodore-64... //cc @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social 🕹️

newbooksnetwork.com

Stefan Höltgen et al., "Commodore 64: Past, Present, and Future of a Home Computer" (Projekt Verlag, 2026) - New Books Network

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Edmond Chang @edmondchang.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The ebook version of Video Games, Literature, and Close Playing is out! Also @routledgebooks.bsky.social is running a sale right now: tinyurl.com/closeplaying... #videogamestudies #gamestudies #closeplaying

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

A week out from Sony announcing the move to digital distribution in 2028, I spoke with Gabrielle Piché at the Winnipeg Free Press about the impact this is likely to have on retailers, as well as the likelihood of Sony reversing course. www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/202... #Sony #Playstation

winnipegfreepress.com

Disc drive: petition seeks to reverse Sony decision to stop producing physical discs

Atop a counter displaying vintage video games, a sign urges passersby to petition Sony Group Corp.

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Alex Donaldson @apzonerunner.com · 06/07/2026

The majority of chatter today will be about the fate of studios who build the games we love. But we cannot forget that these cuts will include hundreds of less visible folk w top expertise in a variety of supporting departments. No studios close today, but the loss personal & professional is immense

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Awful news for industry workers. Expected since MS's fiscal year ended on June 30th, but the scale is egregious. The Ninja Theory sale also makes the Senua footage shown at SGF look like a sales pamphlet for whichever institutional investor is being courted.

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tami lam @cuppy.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I don’t want this point to be lost in the discourse. Going digital-only means inequity for people who cannot afford internet or constantly purchasing new games. Libraries provide opportunities for people to experience games they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford, and that will be lost.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Had a chat wirh Le Devoir’s @leomross.bsky.social about Playstation moving away from physical disks in 2028, and what that means for consumers. Article in French, but I’m happy to translate anything in here!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Thanks for the shoutout! It's really heartwarming to see the videos get tractions. So long as folks are enjoying the content, I'm already a happy camper.

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Kate Gray @hownottodraw.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

in the credits AND credited properly. someone did not do "additional writing" if they did the plot design, character design, dialogue, quests, item descriptions, and scripts. can you imagine being credited as "additional actor" just because you didn't play the protagonist? come on.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I guess it was time for my late 30s pivot. I have a substack now. I'll be chatting about the intersection of games and movies, once a week. Here we go! andreizanescu.substack.com/p/you-got-yo...

andreizanescu.substack.com

You Got Your Games in My Movies!

No You Got Your Movies in My Games!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

This semester has been lighter in terms of my own writing, but I'm doing more one on one mentoring and helping the RAs I'm supervising. It's been some of the most rewarding and affirming work I've ever done. Students rock.

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Alanna Smith @alannamode.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

He's literally Canadian. Do you know how much like... tax incentive and arts/tech tax credit support our governments would probably be down for if they brought SGF here?

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Jesper Juul @jesperjuul.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Join our Visual Game & Media Design two-year master’s program at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Deadline March 1st! Visual Game & Media Design is a cross-disciplinary program open to all creative BA students. Read more about the program here: royaldanishacademy.com/en/programme...

royaldanishacademy.com

Visual Game and Media Design | Royal Danish Academy

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

COME VISIT! I will show you around town and let you know about the hidden gems!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Thinking about @jathansadowski.com’s The Internet of Landlords (2020) a lot these days. Landlords don’t always look like what we imagine them to be in everyday language. They’re actually much more pervasive.

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Michael Iantorno☔️✊ @michaeliantorno.com · 07/02/2026

"This will be great, if the funding comes through."

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

I distinctly remember vibing to this song as a nine-year old with no idea what to do, while paramedics were loading my father into an ambulance for severe kidney stones.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

But what if I just want ti play it because I’ve always loved it?

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

But I also can't stress enough the breadth of awesome work you'll find in these books! This is a stacked cast of games scholars across 32 chapters, discussing genre from a variety of formal, cultural and anti-oppressive perspectives.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

This chapter brings together genre literature on film, TV and games, along with contract theory and Charles Acland's theorization of the blockbuster film, to clearly define what a blockbuster game is.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I had the pleasure of contributing to Epistemic Genres, with my chapter -Blockbuster Games: Industrial Strategy Meets Genre - covering the meeting point between AAA/AAAA game production structures, aesthetics of maximalism and speed, and Hollywood affinities.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

New book release! Absolutely massive double volume set on Game Genre edited by Gerald Voorhees, Joshua Call, Matthew Wysocki and Betsy Brey is out now from Bloomsbury.

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tctc @toastcrust.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Kyle MacLachlan makes a Twin Peaks themed Bento Box youtu.be/YmI5iG0qakU

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Brendan Keogh @brkeogh.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

The Academic Work Tracker spreadsheet is now updated with 2026 dates! If you don't already, 2026 is a great time to start treating your academic work like the wage job where you are paid to work a certain amount of hours that it actually is: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

docs.google.com

Academic Work Tracker Template v2.3 (2026)

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Last up, I want to thank Angela Ndalianis and Helen Stuckey, who edited this collection of articles about Hollywood and Games for Convergence. None of this would be possible without them! Also, CRKN for making this article available open access for all you.

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

This piece is dedicated to this game awards show as the groundwork for many of the shows we see around us today. This is also the first iteration of my upcoming monograph on American game awards, as the site of cultural struggles around what games should be recognized. Stay tuned for more!

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Breaking my self-imposed holiday exile to shout out a new publication: mine! Cybermania '94: Game awards before The Game Awards is now out through Convergence, fully open access. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Andrei Zanescu @andreizanescu.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

And the news doesn't stop coming! I had the pleasure of interviewing with @ledevoir.com a few weeks ago about the winding down (or shift) of the Microsoft and Sony console wars. Article is in French, but feel free tor each out if you want an English translation! www.ledevoir.com/culture/ecra...

ledevoir.com

La guerre des consoles PlayStation et Xbox tire à sa fin

Pendant plus de 20 ans, Sony et Microsoft se sont livré une vive lutte commerciale. C’est désormais chose du passé.

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