Everything to Play For

Today, over 3 billion people play video games regularly. By 2027, this will create an economy of $0.5 trillion a year, larger than films and music combined. More people are watching the competitive finals of Counter-Strike than those of real-life NHL or NBA. There are now games of complexity, innovation, and imagination, but it is also an art form that is driven by the marketplace. There is little scrutiny of how the games are made—the poorly paid click worker, the dominance of the platforms. Nor is there discussion of the politics of the games themselves, often violent, and the culture that surrounds them.

Telling an alternative history of games from Pong to GTA VI, industry insider Marijam Did explores the games and their communities. She asks why the US military use gaming to train troops. How Gamergate exposed the deep misogyny against minority players. She tells the story of game workers who have started to organise in order to demand better conditions. Why the Chinese state polices access to certain platforms.

In response, she argues if we can imagine video games as a challenge to the marketplace. With an abundance of examples of games that are designed to educate, inspire, and promote a more progressive politics, Did argues that we should start to understand how games can change the world, and the time is now.