🎮 Huge change
Welcome to the new world order. (Just kidding. Sort of!)
Mornin’. Nice to see you. Is that a new shirt?
Welcome to the first edition of the ABK Edit. (Or as we call it, “The Edit.”) We like to think of it as a mind-blowing mix of dope discoveries for everyone who games. We hope you’ll just think it’s awesome.
If you’ve received different emails from this address before, don’t worry—consider this a reset. Today we’re official. (Happy. In our lane. Focused. Flourishing.)
Three times per week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—you can expect a hand-crafted, free range, organic edition of this newsletter in your inbox. We’ll whip through what’s up and down in the world (and worth paying attention to), tender tips for leveling up your life, and share extraordinary stories about people working at the intersection of gaming and life. And we’ll have a stupid amount of fun doing it.
Not interested? Unsubscribe at the bottom of this email. But we don’t recommend it—not when we’re just getting started!
Who’s behind this, you ask? The Edit is put together by the Activision Blizzard King editorial team and will feature work from a diverse team of editors, illustrators, and writers who work and live (and yes, game) around the world. But if you want to blame somebody, choose the three people whose names immediately follow. You can email us or follow us on Twitter.
—Andrew Nusca, editor-in-chief; Eric Alt, executive editor; Marques Edge, managing editor
Buffed/Nerfed
What’s up and down in the world rn.
Nerfed: The Decision II. LeBron James? Maybe retiring? Prepare for five excruciating months of commentary about how astonishing it is that a geriatric millennial can still play basketball. (It just warms your heart!)
Buffed: Asteroid City. The critics say Wes Anderson’s new movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks is stylish without substance. We ask: What else are the movies for?
Nerfed: Netflix’s war on password sharing. We’re all for supporting the arts with your hard-earned dollars, but we’re still kinda mad that they told us “Love is sharing a password” six years ago.
Buffed: A 2,651-piece Lego arcade cabinet. Pac-Man never looked so good. (Shoulda done Ms. Pac-Man, tho.)
Nerfed: Cruise ships called “Sunshine.” Tempt fate like that and Mother Nature might just remind you why “Destiny” was a better name. —AN
Burning Question: Are gamers gaming during their workday?
You asked, we answered.
It's not news to anyone that millions of Americans have been working at home for the past three years, ever since the Covid-19 pandemic forced everyone to flee their offices.
But it is news that one of the unintended consequences of this mass exodus would be America's laptop class renegotiating what time is fun o'clock. (Hint: It's now whenever you say it is.)
Contributing writer John DeVore asked a couple of dozen gamers two important questions. First: Do they work from home? And second: Do they play games during the day?
Speed Run: Erin Ashley Simon
Two-minute talks with today’s movers and shakers.
Gaming is still grappling with issues of equity. As an Afro-Latina working in a multibillion-dollar industry dominated by white male voices, Erin Ashley Simon knows the challenges firsthand.
Simon is part-owner and chief culture officer of XSET, a professional esports company that wears diversity and inclusion on its sleeve, to give money, space, and support to underrepresented communities. In doing so, she fast-tracked her own move from the broadcasting booth to the boardroom.
Read what she told managing editor Marques Edge about pursuing her passion—plus her favorite Abbott Elementary quote—after the jump.
Wayback Wednesday
Here’s a blast from the past.
In 1982 the actor Jack Black (School of Rock, Jumanji, and, of course, Tenacious D) booked his first Hollywood job: a television commercial for the Activision video game Pitfall!, playable on Atari 2600 and Mattel’s Intellivision. He was just 13 years old.
“At the time, this was the most badass video game ever created,” he later recalled. (Aw, shucks.)
Smash that play button to see what console games were like 40 years ago and how Black’s signature energy hasn’t changed one bit—incredibly—since his very first foray on the small screen. —AN
Wormhole
Click the following image and…well, we don’t want to ruin the surprise.
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