iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 19h

Yeah I think you're likely right tbh. The main benefit of a Patreon post is that it gets emailed out to our patrons and then several thousand 'free members' as well, like an email newsletter. BUT... I'm just not sure people like clicking on Patreon links outside of that. It looks a bit odd.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 19h

This is a bit of an experiment for PMG, as I'd love to make space to publish more articles (& to commission freelancers to write for us where it makes sense), but it's not clear to me whether people will see Patreon links as the home for that kind of work? Let's see how this one goes!

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 19h

I had hoped to be there in-person to film something on the ground, but we just couldn't make it work. So I've tried something a bit different and written about it instead (wild, I know).

The Ubisoft Milan picket with a sign in the foreground which reads "UBI-SOFT LAYOFF".

A speech being given via megaphone at the Ubisoft Milan picket yesterday.

A closeup of another sign at yesterday's picket which reads "TUTTI IN UFFICIO MA A CHE PREZZO?", which translates to "EVERYONE BACK TO THE OFFICE BUT AT WHAT COST?"

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 19h

Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Barcelona Mobile are both on strike this week, as workers continue to push back against the company's decision to scrap work from home. Read our report here (it's a Patreon link, but open to everyone): www.patreon.com/PeopleMakeGa...

patreon.com

Ubisoft workers go on strike, again | People Make Games

Note from PMG: We were contacted a couple of weeks ago about an upcoming strike taking place across two Ubisoft studios. This is a significa

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Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 21h

BREAKING: Star Wars Zero Company studio Bit Reactor has brought some of its furloughed workers this week. Most of the studio was furloughed a few weeks before launch Over half of the studio is now back, a source told me. The rest remain furloughed www.gamefile.news/p/star-wars-...

gamefile.news

Some furloughed Star Wars Zero Company developers are returning to work, studio says

Bit Reactor breaks its silence with good news (for some)

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Mikhail Klimentov @leadergrev.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Has anyone heard anything about this guy www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...

youtube.com

Bobby Kotick vs. The Games Media

YouTube video by People Make Games

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Grand Rapids, near to where Jerry lives

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Oh for fuck's sake, I'm so sorry.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Our Jerry's Map documentary was screened at an art museum in Michigan over the weekend, followed by a Q&A with the man himself. Love love love this. Photo credit: Nik Burkhart

The opening shot of PMG's Jerry's Map documentary, with a small audience in the foreground.

Jerry Gretzinger being interviewed on stage as part of a Q&A following the screening.

A close-up of Jerry Gretzinger and the interviewer from the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Another shot of Jerry being interviewed on stage as part of the Q&A.

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MinnMax @minnmax.com · 01/10/2026

Jacob Geller is no longer a part of MinnMax. He won't be on content moving forward and we won't be publicly airing this week's episode of The MinnMax Show. We're in shock and deeply hurt. Thank you for your patience during this sensitive time.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Take a look at Mothership's homepage and just look at the range of bylines it's already enabled. One of only a few, green shoots in the games media right now and as the last few days have highlighted, its existence feels absolutely vital.

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Nicole Carpenter @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

jess is right! it’s worse than ever for women in this field, and it was still pretty bad at our peak. im one of the lucky freelancers who has regular work (probably work more than i did at polygon!), and it’s still not a livable amount of pay. it’s pushing important and skilled women out.

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Jessica Cogswell 🌸 @jessicogs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I feel like I have so much I want to say but it’s just this incoherent ramble. But do you know how much it weighs on me to be the one woman on staff at GameSpot? To be one of VERY few women in the industry? To be one of ever fewer moms? To walk into press events and be the *sole* woman?

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Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

NEW: In January, I was sent a threatening and absurd email by Bobby Kotick's lawyers It was unsettling I've wanted to tell readers about it, but didn't want to step on Mikhail's toes. Now that his report is out, here's my experience of standing up for my work www.gamefile.news/p/bobby-koti...

gamefile.news

Bobby Kotick’s lawyers sent me a bad email (and later apologized)

Part of a broader strategy by the former Activision CEO to shape press coverage

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026

Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🧵Thread from one of the original reporters of the WSJ investigation here, again reiterating that their work was never corrected or altered, despite Kotick/Clare Locke pressuring other outlets to consider it "debunked".

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Rhiannon 🇵🇸 @rhithewitch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Currently watching this but yeah all my Kotick coverage was taken down after a legal threat. Actually why I was looking into setting up my own archive the other day. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...

youtube.com

Inside Bobby Kotick's Campaign Against the Press

YouTube video by People Make Games

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Mikhail Klimentov @leadergrev.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For nearly two years, I've been investigating a pattern of ominous legal letters sent to journalists by defamation counsel representing Bobby Kotick. That investigation is finally live. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...

youtube.com

Inside Bobby Kotick's Campaign Against the Press

YouTube video by People Make Games

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 24/09/2026

I traveled to Washington, D.C. to help People Make Games film this important investigation led by @leadergrev.bsky.social. Help fund more of their work: Patreon.com/PeopleMakeGames

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Carli Boo-locci 👻 @carlivelocci.com · 24/09/2026

So many journalists can tell you they received emails asking them to change how stories about ABK and Kotick were written.

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Ash Parrish, Kotaku's LeBron James @adashtra.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

oh hey yup uh huh..YUUUUP

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Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I’m really happy that @leadergrev.bsky.social and PMG are getting this story out and I urge you to watch it.

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Scare-o-lyn Petit @carolynmichelle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

OMG OMG OMG someone finally reported on it! Thank god!

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

There's plenty of nuance to understand, as we lay out in our full video, but the chilling effect does seem very real. As one journalist put it to Mikhail: "We felt any legitimate coverage of him could result in legal action we couldn't afford".

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Mikhail has gotten hold of several of the letters sent out to the press by Clare Locke LLP, on behalf of Kotick, and has spent the last two years trying to understand the effect they've now had. Are these letters being sent out for good reason, or are they exploiting a fearful games media?

A promotional image from Clare Locke's website featuring one of the firm's founders sitting next to a poster with the words "KEEP CALM AND FILE LIBEL SUITS".

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

To exert this pressure, Kotick has employed Clare Locke LLP, a prominent defamation law firm which describes its own biggest victories as being "the flawed stories that never get published and the scandals you never read about in the news".

A still from our video, showing the Clare Locke LLP branding alongside the firm's two founders.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Specifically, Kotick has pressured reporters to alter the way in which they refer to the now-settled 2021 California lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, as well as an investigative report published by the Wall Street Journal, which his lawyers have repeatedly described as having been "debunked".

An article about Bobby Kotick, later updated to clarify that the California settlement "also cleared Kotick of any wrongdoing".

An Observer editor's note which describes the Wall Street Journal's reporting as having been "debunked".

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Thanks to Mikhail Klimentov (@leadergrev.bsky.social) for bringing this story to us, having first been tipped off to Kotick's campaign against the press a couple of years ago. Since then he's become obsessed with tracking down the various legal threats being sent to journalists behind the scenes.

A still from the video, showing Mikhail looking into the camera.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In recent years, the media has quietly begun to change the way in which it writes about Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard. PMG investigates how Kotick used the threat of defamation to reshape his legacy in the games business, one article at a time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...

youtube.com

Inside Bobby Kotick's Campaign Against the Press

YouTube video by People Make Games

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I genuinely find the whole process a bit embarrassing tbh, but it's hard to overstate how badly the wrong title/thumb can mess things up for us after working on something that maybe took us several months to put together 😩

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It's telling that most YouTubers I know have reacted to the idea of this with utter *exasperation* lol. We like having the option to A/B test titles and thumbnails after having spent so long on PMG videos, but this ceaseless push towards data-driven optimization makes me want to crumble into dust.

A social media post from the YouTube Creators account, detailing a new feature coming to the platform. It reads:

"stop guessing what hooks your audience 🎣 with video A/B testing, you can test up to 3 edits of a Short or video simultaneously. review the stats, pick the clear winner, and seamlessly lock it in as your video.

launching to select creators in 2027."

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"and some walking around money" really tickled me here

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Harper Jay @dreamcastaway.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What is there even to say about this Xbox stuff? Incredibly grim, legendary fumbles all around. A complete untangling of the weave, nothing but tatters and loose thread.. "Activision will also be developing the next Halo title" sounds like a threat. lmao

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Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

NEW: Nearly 300 more jobs cut at Microsoft's gaming team (part of 3,200 announced in July). Majority at Halo Studios, reduced to support Ninja Theory facing potential closure Halo to Activision (dev and publishing) Rare to Activision, too Obsidian to Bethesda www.gamefile.news/p/xbox-halo-...

gamefile.news

Microsoft makes big cuts at Halo Studios, shifts franchise to Activision

Deal to sell Ninja Theory falls through, dimming studio’s prospects

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IGN Creators Guild @ignunion.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We are tired of posting statements like these.

Today was an awful day at IGN. We were blindsided by the layoff of four union members and many more people across the organization who contributed years of their careers to making IGN an unparalleled voice in games and entertainment.

With each successive layoff, core parts of IGN’s operation continue to be stripped away. Today, IGN has decided to do away with many of our talented producers, editors, hosts, and other crucial roles, both within and out of the union. How many layoffs will occur before we no longer recognize the company we work for and the content that we make?

While we recognize the challenges the media industry is facing as a whole, it is difficult to understand how laying off valuable employees better positions us to meet those challenges. In turn, remaining employees bear additional workloads worsened by anxiety over the ever-looming threat of another layoff.

We are devastated, angry, and heartbroken for our colleagues.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Loads of support over the weekend from players too. It’s been fun watching several posters steadily get filled out with messages. The unions have also given away nearly 7000 pin badges featuring the emblems of the different Blizzard units.

Posters for Blizzcon attendees to sign, titled “We stand with Blizzard Devs”

A closeup of the messages, including one that reads “keep inspiring creatives to be paid what their worth” and a warning sign around “AI”.

Another closeup, this time saying “‘Bout time”, referencing the StarCraft quote.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Some international union solidarity on display for the fired Rockstar devs too @gameworkers.co.uk

A QR code directing people to support the Rockstar Union facing an employment tribunal this month.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

First thing the Blizzcon attendees see as they join the queue for this year’s show.

The Blizzard union stall set up outside of Blizzcon 2026

A sign reading “Unionized Blizzard Gamemakers. We make the games!”

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Jerry's Map @jerrysmap.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Friday, September 11, 2026: Jerry's Map Section G.IX jerrysmap.com

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Picked a good weekend to mostly be standing outside the main entrance of Blizzcon 👍

Severe weather alert for California. It’s real hot!

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Would have loved to have been there this morning, but we do have a camera operator outside the Glasgow tribunal centre right now.

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Damn, you've got to imagine Rockstar never envisioned a speech like this one happening when they fired those 34 workers, huh?

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Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I’ve been over to Irvine, California twice since early 2025 to see what union members have been up to first-hand, along with many, many conversations in-between. And I’ll also be at Blizzcon in Anaheim this weekend to film a bunch of stuff there as well. Can't wait to eventually get this out there.

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