National Guardsman Gets 16 Years for Leaking Pentagon Docs Over Discord
Jack Teixeira shared documents on the war in Ukraine to a gamer group on Discord.
Video Games
Review: Cyberpunk 2077 Explores Another Lawless Dystopia
In the game's Phantom Liberty expansion, those who make the laws rarely follow them.
Review: Starfield Is Really a Video Game About Government
Bureaucracy vs. freedom in outer space
British Teen Gets Potential Life Sentence for Grand Theft Auto VI Hack
Rockstar Games told a U.K. court that it spent $5 million to recover from the hack. Is that worth the rest of a teenager's life?
This Christmas, Americans Can Afford More Toys Than Ever
The rising prices throughout much of the economy make it a little easier to appreciate the things that seem to be inflation-proof, like video games.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Slyly Remixes the Cult Film's View of Romance and Autonomy
What if Ramona Flowers bears some responsibility for creating her seven "evil exes" in the first place?
Starfield Is a Vast, Sprawling Video Game About the Fragility of State Power
The latest RPG from Bethesda Studios chronicles the unexpected ways that private, non-governmental power steps in to fill the gaps and voids left by state actors.
The Best of Reason: The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law.
The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law
The Government Has Made College an Overpriced Scam
Thankfully, you don't need fancy dining halls or a college degree to have a good life or get a good job.
A Ham-Handed Bill Attacks the First Amendment in the Name of Protecting Minors From Online Harm
The Kids Online Safety Act imposes an amorphous "duty of care" that would compromise anonymous speech and restrict access to constitutionally protected content.
We Don't Need a War on Screen Time
Unwired makes an unconvincing argument for heavy-handed tech regulation.
An Infuriating New Online Game Asks: Would You Be Able To Immigrate to the U.S.?
Players can experience for themselves how difficult, expensive, and exhausting it is to come to the country legally.
With Microsoft Victory, Courts Go On Epic Killstreak Against FTC Antitrust Agenda
The gaming market remains competitive with a wide variety of options.
Court Greenlights Microsoft Acquisition of Video Game Powerhouse Activision Blizzard
Plus: California social media law could backfire, Massachusetts may ban the sale of phone location data, and more...
Review: Victoria 3 Lacks Spontaneous Order
The video game is a 100-year simulation of the Victorian era where the player has centralized control over the government of their chosen country.
Police Release Body Camera Footage of Louisville Bank Shooting That Killed 5
Plus: Fact-checking the Twitter Files fact check, The Super Mario Bros. Movie's alleged lack of wokeness, and more...
The Defiant Individualism of The Last of Us
Like the video game, the HBO series makes the case for the morality of an individual who refuses to sacrifice for the collective.
Review: Time Meddling Becomes Altruism in Amazon's The Peripheral
It's the story of a distant future where rich denizens meddle in the affairs of the past.
5 New Studies That Challenge Conventional Wisdom About Kids and Tech
A slew of recent research suggests parents should relax a bit about screen time.
Why In the World Is the FTC Trying to Block Microsoft From Buying Call of Duty?
Antitrust regulators don't seem to understand how the video game industry works.
The FTC Has No Business Trying To Stop Video Game Company Mergers
It’s one of the most competitive industries in the world, and there’s no good reason to stop Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard.
Dwarf Fortress, the Deepest, Most Insane Computer Simulation Game Ever, Just Got a Shiny New Makeover
The game is one of the greatest pieces of outsider art created in the 21st century, and it just got a lot easier to play.
Review: Try and Fail To Build a Virtual City in Sim Nimby
Eventually the player realizes nothing is getting built and quits.
Review: Be Your Own Boss in Space With 1993's Wing Commander: Privateer
The video game merges free market trading with exciting space combat, and your ethics and goals are up to you.
Review: The Cat Video Game That Public Health Authoritarians Will Love
Stray began development in 2015, so it's not intended to be an allegory about COVID-19 lockdowns, but it sure seems like one.
Review: Gran Turismo 7
The video game serves as a fun reminder that free trade, not protectionism, makes us all better off.
Diablo Immortal and the Paternalistic Futility of Video Game Loot-Box Bans
The game won't be playable in Belgium or the Netherlands thanks to local gambling laws.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
When the multiplayer role-playing game hit the market in 2010, it was a disaster, panned by critics and series fans alike. But developers retooled it and it found a committed audience.
Arcane
The show details friction between the privileged innovators of a steampunk city and the impoverished slums underneath it.
The Awful Uncharted Raises the Question: Are Video Game Movies Art?
Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg star in another timid, lifeless video game adaptation.
The Biggest NFT Video Game's Economy Is Collapsing Because NFT Games Don't Work
Some NFT assets held their value during January's crypto crash, but not the video game monsters in Axie Infinity.
The Sims 4: Cottage Living
You can finally set up a farm with crops and animals such as cows, llamas, and chickens—heedless of zoning rules!
Chinese Regulators Tell Kids They Can't Play More Than 3 Hours of Video Games a Week
The government appoints itself the nation's parent.
With Free Guy, Hollywood Gives Us a Video Game Movie About the Thrills of, Uh, Labor Disputes
Ryan Reynolds stars as a video game character who discovers his whole life is a lie.
That Weird California Computer Ban Isn't What It Appears to Be. It's Dumber.
An attempt to reduce idle electricity consumption actually incentivizes selling more powerful equipment.
Townscaper
A new type of city-building game which will make you feel like you've been administered a digital Valium
Elizabeth Warren and the SEC Should Let the GameStop Lulz Go On
The last thing this game-inspired, meme-powered finance fight needs is federal meddling.
Wasteland 3
It's a telling sign when a video game opens with a warning that the events it depicts might be a little too close to life.
Massachusetts Abandons Its Puzzling Public Health Distinction Between Casinos and Video Arcades
A week after being sued over his arbitrary COVID-19 policy, Gov. Charlie Baker says he will allow arcades to reopen.
Are Video Arcades More Dangerous Than Casinos During a Pandemic?
A federal lawsuit argues that the distinction drawn by Massachusetts is unconstitutional.
Trump's TikTok, WeChat Ban Won't End Up Blocking Fortnite and League of Legends
An ambiguous presidential order affecting a Chinese company connected to several popular video games sows confusion.
The Return of Sports Is Great. It's Also Deeply Weird.
Playing baseball in the uncanny valley