Since the first popular video game was released more than 50 years ago, they have often been brushed off as niche and nerdy — the arena of the basement dweller, the outcast, the arcade-addicted kid who didn’t want to engage with the real world. But that’s never really been true — and it’s especially not now. Today, Zelda, Mario, and Sonic are household names. Epic world-building has become not just a career for game designers, but also a passion for countless creators. Hundreds of millions of people go to Twitch to watch others conquer bosses and reveal tricks, and hundreds of millions more talk about it on Discord. Viewership for League of Legends World Championships rivals that of the Super Bowl. At this point, it’s estimated that there are 3 billion gamers on the planet. For decades, gaming was a subculture. Now, it’s become the culture itself. That’s why, over the next six pages, we’re taking a closer look at every facet of the world of gaming: introducing you to the most creative players, spotlighting the new releases and Hollywood adaptations we can’t wait to see, examining the fight to diversify the industry both onscreen and behind the scenes, and more. It’s a salute to where gaming’s been — and where it’s headed next.
-
Gaming Levels Up
From the fight for an inclusive industry to one game's NSFW takeover, we look at the good, the bad and the ugly of gaming culture in 2023
- By
-
Inside the Art of ‘Breaking’ Video Games
By exploiting quirks and glitches, some highly advanced players have finished the biggest games in record time
- By
-
The 19 Biggest Music Milestones in Video Games
The songs, collaborations, and fully playable characters that cemented the marriage between music and gaming
- By
-
They Fought for Diversity in Gaming. Then the Abuse Began
Nearly a decade after Gamergate, those making inclusive video games are still facing vitriol — from doctored images to rape threats
- By
-
How ‘Overwatch’ Spawned the World's Hottest Video Game Porn
Animators have turned a popular game into a surprisingly inclusive mode of sexual expression
- By
-
Press Start to Play: 2023’s Most Anticipated Video Games
From reinvigorated classics to brand new IP, and a little Zelda in between, these are the games we're most psyched to see in 2023.
- By
-
From Game Tester to TV’s Resident ‘Indoor Kid’: Inside Ashly Burch's Lifelong ‘Quest’
As Rachel on the Apple TV+ comedy ‘Mythic Quest’, she brings authenticity — probably because she’s also one of the gaming world’s most beloved voice actors
- By
-
Hollywood's Power Players: Why 2023 Will Be the Year of Video Game Adaptations
From 'The Last of Us' to 'Gran Turismo', get ready to see your favorite characters hit the big (and small) screen
- By