Nathan Grayson
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nathangrayson.bsky.social
Nathan Grayson
@nathangrayson.bsky.social
Co-founder and reporter @aftermath.site. Beats: labor, livestreaming. My book about Twitch, Stream Big, is available now. Formerly: The Washington Post. Send tips to [email protected] or nathangrayson.666 on Signal
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I’m nathan

website: @aftermath.site (please subscribe)

book about twitch: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Stream... (please preorder)

cat: biscuit (please appreciate)
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
i would not trust the guillemot family to run a lemonade stand
Ubisoft, face covered in bruises, once again extends leg confidently towards end of rake:

aftermath.site/ubisoft-ai-tea...
November 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
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we...might have fucked up with 5000 (that number needs to be higher), and 5500 is coming regardless (new hoodie soon!), but 6500 is the BIG goal
Exciting news! Thanks to our sale, we've rocketed all the way up to over 4,900 paying subscribers. This means we can cross another goal, a regular columnist, off our list. We plan to sort out the exact specifics in our own time, but for now, who do you think would be a good fit?
November 25, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
Exciting news! Thanks to our sale, we've rocketed all the way up to over 4,900 paying subscribers. This means we can cross another goal, a regular columnist, off our list. We plan to sort out the exact specifics in our own time, but for now, who do you think would be a good fit?
November 25, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
Valve, internally, are probably trying to lean on "objective" final decisions in moderation as an ultimate problem stopper. from their personal standpoint, it probably is. but art is subjective, and when you own an art storefront of this boggling scale you have a responsibility to apply some nuance.
November 25, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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I think Demonschool is a good video game but I think Brandon’s approach to how staff worked together and were credited REALLY deserves a lot of attention. Video game crediting is a stupid black box and transparency will help average people understand these roles.
demonschool credits all 145 people who touched the game over the course of its multi-year dev cycle AND explains what exactly they contributed. the rest of the games industry, which commonly omits people from credits entirely, should be taking notes
November 25, 2025 at 7:37 PM
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Credit *everyone* is the least a company can do. Crediting everyone and explaining their role on the project should be the normal and respectful thing to do.
demonschool credits all 145 people who touched the game over the course of its multi-year dev cycle AND explains what exactly they contributed. the rest of the games industry, which commonly omits people from credits entirely, should be taking notes
November 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
demonschool credits all 145 people who touched the game over the course of its multi-year dev cycle AND explains what exactly they contributed. the rest of the games industry, which commonly omits people from credits entirely, should be taking notes
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I’m gonna be in LA to cover the game awards and surrounding events for @aftermath.site! if you’d like to send any invites, feel free to DM or email me
November 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM
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We now have a full text RSS feed for members, if you're into that kinda thing:

aftermath.site/aftermath-rss-...
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 PM
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Working with editors early on made me realise that, truly, maybe the biggest problem with YouTube criticism is no one has to work with an editor
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
October 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
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sometimes you just need to get your ass kicked
November 24, 2025 at 10:57 PM
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If you want to see more of this type of work, please consider becoming an Aftermath subscriber. We're currently running a sale, where you can get your first month of our Reader tier for just $1 aftermath.site
November 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I was born and raised in dallas and moved away at the earliest opportunity not because I recognized all of this when I was younger, but because what springs out of it is a place that’s culturally and artistically impoverished — a gray blob of chain stores and paranoia
November 24, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
For @aftermath.site, I spoke to @imodrew.bsky.social, the Sucker Punch dev fired after making a Charlie Kirk joke.

She paints a picture of an industry that all too often ignores bad actors until those bad actors threaten them financially.
aftermath.site/sucker-punch...
Two Months After Firing Over Charlie Kirk Comments, Ghost Of Yotei Dev Blames Harassment Campaign, Not ‘Bad Joke’
"I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, because I feel like with the state of everything, it will absolutely happen to other people," says Drew Harrison
aftermath.site
November 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
This is what happened to me. Employers across the board need to be aware of how harassment campaigns work and do better to protect their employees from them. These people should not have a platform to profit off of harassment.
Two months after firing over Charlie Kirk comments, Ghost of Yotei dev blames harassment campaign, not 'bad joke'
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
Two months after firing over Charlie Kirk comments, Ghost of Yotei dev blames harassment campaign, not 'bad joke'
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
November 24, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
X's location "transparency" feature showing many MAGA accounts are based internationally reveals what we already knew: The world is using American social media and American politics as a slot machine and social media companies are directly incentivizing this:

www.404media.co/americas-pol...
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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Periodic reminder that this kind of doomer bullshit is marketing for these companies. It makes the models sound more human-like and also more effective than they actually are.
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
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EXCLUSIVE: So far it's been unclear what proof Rockstar Games has to justify its firing of 34 union members, who it claims were leaking "confidential information in a public forum".

PMG has now seen some of the messages which contributed to this decision being made.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TvW...
The Messages Rockstar Saw Before Firing 34 Union Members
YouTube video by People Make Games
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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that’s right for 24 hours I am the Game File Street Team, very shrewd of Stephen. Subscribe! Give me cash! Fund more freelancers on Game File!
Want to enable more freelance reporting and reviews on Game File?

Now's a great time to support Game File and Joshua--and to help fund future guest contributions

Guest writers receive a flat rate plus a 25% cut of any annual subscriptions purchased in the 24 hours after their articles run
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
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two years into a business called "aftermath" and we finally got our second dre request
November 23, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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Support human workers. Support human artists. Buy a t-shirt.

aftermath.site/buy-destroy-ai...
November 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
Ryan Lizza is doing with his Substack what YouTubers have already perfected: taking serious allegations they’re personally involved with and turning them into melodrama to deflect from any of their own culpability and wrongdoing and monetize the shit out of it. Not journalism plus it’s embarrassing
November 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
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I spoke with people role-playing ICE raids in video games to help educate people on their rights and what to do in real-life situations. Tonight, they're holding an event in Fortnite www.wired.com/story/activi...
November 21, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Nathan Grayson
There's a lot to say about the Roblox CEO interview, and the right place to start is definitely his answers on children's safety, because that's kind of the fire that is hottest and closest.

However, I have to also say, the polymarket stuff is real 'summation of our neoliberal dumpster fire' shit.
November 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM