Cecilia D'Anastasio
@cecianasta
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reporter covering the games industry and digital culture for Bloomberg News @technology email: cdanastasio @bloomberg .net Discord: ehvee Signal: cecilia.01
Brooklyn, NY
Joined May 2009
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the Nintendo DS was wasted on millennials
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I just got into an elevator with an entire boy band and had this pure interaction:
Me: Why do all of you look so good?
Them: We're a boy band
Me: Oh!
Their manager: I don't look good
Them: No, you look great
Me: You look great
Manager: Thank you
Them, to me: You look good too
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Hell yes.
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After half a year of reporting, it's finally out there: two dozen current and former Riot employees say the company's culture is steeped in sexism:
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Scoop: Twitch content chief announced her departure internally the same day as Twitch's controversial revenue share news. She worked under Twitch president Dan Clancy, who announced the news. Sources say he is out of touch with creators, profit-focused
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Planning a game night in 2010:
Me: What are we running?
Player 1: D&D 4th edition
Player 2: D&D 3.5!
Player 3: D&D 3.0!!!!!
Planning a game night in 2020:
Me: What are we running?
Player 1: I found an RPG where you get to play as rocks
Players 2 and 3: Dooooooope
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New: Our deep-dive investigation reveals widespread child predation on Twitch. Bloomberg has analyzed thousands of accounts that systematically find and follow apparent kids and pre-teens streaming. Up to 279,000 were targeted. My story:
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This is not true, FYI. Game companies have access to your in-game communications. I've received FOIA responses from the FBI containing WoW players' chat logs from as far back as 2008. The best way to communicate privately is through software designed for that!
The best way to communicate privately is inside of video games. Gaming software is still largely untouched by spy agencies and almost every game has their own player chat implementation. Now you know why I play a lot of video games 😎
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Nintendo in 2004: we made a console with a second screen for, like, mini maps
Nintendo in 2040: we made a console with a second screen for Subway Surfers videos
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New: Twitch lost several top people since early 2022. Sources speaking with Bloomberg say the company lacks strategy and leadership. But most of all, Twitch has lost touch with its north star: Creators
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Breaking: Microsoft wins US court case to buy Activision Blizzard in loss for FTC. Story incoming.
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Breaking: Twitch sues two alleged hate raid perpetrators. Our story
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Congratulations to the women who fought so damn hard for this over all these years. Brave and powerful. This settlement is 10x more than the initial $10 million agreed to in 2019. The $100 million will go to 1,065 women employees and 1,300 contract workers, per new DFEH statement
BREAKING NEWS: Riot Games settles the 2018 California gender discrimination suit for $100 million. $80 million will go to women employees and contractors at Riot who worked there between 2014 and now.
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Almost lost a game of competitive Overwatch because my entire team was yelling at this one dude who admitted he uses Internet Explorer
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So excited to finally share the fruits of an investigation I've been obsessing over for months. The fruits themselves are..... bittersweet
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Microsoft mistakenly posted the confidential Xbox documents--not the FTC. From me and
@leah_nylen
:
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Seventeen esports insiders expressed concerns that their industry might be a bubble. Some said they don't know what a viable business model is for an esports org; others said they inflated viewership numbers themselves. My story:
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VTubers are a flourishing class of entertainer--not from the fantasy of interacting with an anime character. Today's 17k VTubers speak to people's desire to become their best selves online,
@ironmouse
says: "It's like putting on a superhero costume"
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After a wonderful 3.5 years, today is my final day at Kotaku. I have so much gratitude for everyone--editors, colleagues and readers--who made this job so fulfilling and meaningful to me.
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who are all of these click farms and YouTubers gonna plagiarize if all the journalists are laid off
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oh my god, Paimon's voice actor calling out their boyfriend for skipping through their lines 😂
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Breaking:
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we won the
@WGAEast
award for our article on sexism at Riot Games. endlessly grateful to my brave sources
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Over the course of six weeks, one guy had dozens of aspiring and professional game devs working at his fake studio on a game he didn't own the rights to. My story:
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Employees at Activision Blizzard bravely walked out today in solidarity with victims of workplace sexism. One told
@WIRED
: "We love our jobs, but our jobs don’t love us back. And that hurts. So we’re trying to change that.” Our story on the walkout:
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I talked to some lawyers about Palworld and their legal advice was to chill:
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Scoop: Riot Games and TSM are investigating TSM founder/CEO Andy "Reginald" Dinh for allegedly bullying and verbally abusing employees and players. Speaking with WIRED, current/former employees and players say Dinh's behavior has created a culture of fear.
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Genuinely curious: A Twitch channel's mods can ban a user at their discretion. If that Twitch channel officially represents the U.S. Army, is it unconstitutional to ban a user for asking questions? Even if, under some SUPER twisted definition, the army argues it's harassment?
Calling out the government’s war crimes isn’t harassment, it’s speaking truth to power. And banning users who ask important questions isn’t "flexing," it’s unconstitutional.
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The Writers Guild just announced that my investigation into Riot Games' culture of sexism was nominated for a WGA award! I am honored as hell and very, very grateful to my sources who made the whole thing happen.
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Personal news: I am thrilled to announce that I am joining Bloomberg's tech team, where I will continue covering the games industry. It has been an honor and a treat to work alongside WIRED's fantastic team of reporters, editors, designers, artists, researchers and social
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New for
@BW
: Spanish-speaking gamers are KILLING IT on Twitch. From 2019 to 2022, the audience increased 6x and Spanish shot up from the 7th to 2nd most-watched language. Interviews with
@samyriveratv
,
@elmarianaa
& more about their success:
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Top lol from me. Not to be crass, but I wrote an expose on sexism at Riot Games, investigated the esports bubble, held top streamers/YouTubers accountable and regularly pub original reports on Smash/Overwatch esports. Still not on the "esports journalism" radar (:
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You don't have to run an interview if you didn't learn anything new. Just some free editorial advice
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Grateful for all the eyes on this and the conversation around it. There isn't a lot of reporting like this re: the games industry for a reason. Sources said stirring the pot can mean financial instability in games. There's so much fear. These sources were so brave!
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my story on Cyberpunk 2077's marketing grift:
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this is the highest calling of journalism, and don't ever take for granted how few sites can speak to their audiences this way
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Hello, I am now covering the games industry for Bloomberg! My new email is cdanastasio
@bloomberg
.net. Say hi. People who want to chat about working at a games or games-adjacent org can reach me over Signal (DM for #) or Discord (Cecianasta
#9946
). (PR/comms please just email.) 💕
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New: Some Twitch viewers say they're hooked on crypto gambling after watching their favorite streamers bet live on Twitch as part of lucrative sponsorship deals. One fan who says he became addicted declared bankruptcy. Our story:
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NEW: Inside FaZe Clan's years-long implosion. Former employees point to now-ousted CEO Lee Trink, blaming hubris and overspending. Trink told me: "We weren't throwing money away. We were creating a mythology."
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three weeks after my investigation into Riot Games' culture of sexism, Riot is apologizing and promising change. proud that my sources held Riot accountable and spurred conversation around what real change might look like. but will it happen?
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for four years, my friends and I assiduously dodged another friend's more and more desperate attempts to get us to watch Japanese wrestling. tonight, he invited us to his place to "watch livestreamed Japanese performance art." we were intrigued and all came. god I feel so stupid
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A handful of Riot employees are threatening to walk out if Riot doesn't change its stance on forced arbitration. I'm hearing others are not enthusiastic or don't feel prepared to participate:
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Pokimane getting murdered by AOC in Among Us: "It was an honor. It was an honor to serve you." My story AOC's very good Twitch debut:
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Hasan Piker: "Is it weird we're calling you AOC?"
AOC: "You guys can call me AOC. Mike Pence can't call me AOC."
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After the console reveals, I keep seeing "just get a gaming PC" takes. And while I'm def "team gaming PC," the argument that it's cheaper in the long-run is flawed. Intel told me in June that on average, PC gamers change SYSTEMS every 2 years. That’s a lot of money!
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Redpilled on Roblox. Far-right players ran a popular ancient Rome role-play that sources say turned fascism into a game and gamified access to fascists. My deep dive questioning the scale of radicalization over games while showing what it might look like:
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Ever wondered what it would take to get a DDR machine from Japan? My deep dive into the underground, gray-market business of bringing Japan's arcade machines to the US.
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It's my first
@WIRED
article and it's about unionization in the games industry
With harrowing stories of employees being overworked, harassed, or suddenly laid off, it's no surprise the games industry has a higher turnover rate than any other tech sphere.
That's why one of America’s biggest unions is joining the effort to solve it.
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Amazon spent biiig $ trying to "win at games." Sources explain why they've failed so far: hubris. “We’ll have our own engine. It will feed into AWS. We’ll use it to build our games, and we’ll feed those games into Twitch. We’ll make all this money.” Nope.
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a very sad and real story from a former Riot employee who just came forward:
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WaPo is sunsetting its games vertical the same day NYT publishes another classically 🙄 line on gaming: "Until fairly recently, games were considered a niche hobby, typically associated with children." Infuriating that games coverage remains low priority at these prestige outlets
More details on
@washingtonpost
layoffs, per memo from Executive Editor Sally Buzbee:
— 20 newsroom positions eliminated
— 30 open positions will not be filled
— WaPo is sunsetting Launcher, its online gaming vertical, and KidsPost, per two sources familiar
Memo below:
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fact-checker: i'm calling to run something by mr. bannon
rep: ok, shoot
fact-checker (nervous): is bannon currently attempting autofellatio
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Riot's CEO is under investigation for gender-based discrimination after a former employee filed a complaint last month. Others at the top of the company have been accused of misconduct, too. Our report:
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For years, players have use the words "inclusive" and "open" to describe the Smash community. For years, people hurt within it have said that's not actually the case. Now, it's clearer than ever. My story on how the community will move forward:
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Sources say that as Twitch scaled, it hired workers from big tech companies who were "unwilling to learn what this community was, why it was special." Empathy for streamers became an issue and contributed to unpopular product releases/strategies, they say.
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I encounter this a lot: sources don't know that they can speak with journalists off the record or anonymously. To a lot of people, "talking to a journalist" = getting quoted by name. That's not true! Any good journalist will run through your options with you if you're new to it
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New: My feature on the faltering promise of Activision Blizzard's Overwatch League--a window into how CEO Bobby Kotick does business. "At the end of the day, this was a bet on Bobby," says one team owner.
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Her specific title is "senior vice president of global creators." The original headline said "content chief," which is vague. It's been updated in the story
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New: Facebook Gaming was dominated by "live" videos of the Ukraine invasion that were actually clips from military sim Arma 3 this morning. These videos had a live concurrent audience of over 110,000 and were shared over 25,000 times. Many ran for hours.
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The widow of D&D father Gary Gygax has been shouldering the burden of his legacy for 11 years. My story about her & that legacy is long, likely controversial and involves allegations of break-ins, lawsuits, disappeared manuscripts & visits from the beyond:
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the thiccest chicks here in Twitch's new hot tub category
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Sources say Google couldn't stomach the expensive and complicated creative process necessary to make games. Paired with Amazon, tech giants are absolutely struggling to develop first-party games: My story:
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Love and respect for the brave women in games speaking out about harassment. If you are a woman (or a man) in the games industry with a story you'd like to share, my DMs are open and I have Signal. You can also contact us through SecureDrop:
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i am thrilled to deliver this good news to you all
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Hector Rodriguez and Scump just filed a suit alleging Activision has an "unlawful 100% monopoly over" its Call of Duty League. Full story from
@maia_spoto
and some interesting details below:
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Someone is circulating a photoshopped version of an article I wrote. It looks like it generated a lot of controversy. Please Google stuff before taking it as real. Thanks.
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Riot's culture is steeped in sexism, and many current/former employees I spoke with believe its leaders should be held accountable--especially ones who may have contributed:
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you are a part of the problem. if you do not. shame. toxic players. in online games
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News: Video game performers under SAG-AFTRA have voted to authorize a strike with 98% of votes. This does not mean they are striking or will strike. The actors are bargaining with top companies including Activision, Take-Two and Epic. Article incoming.
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The other hand I will express through a quote from a current female Riot employee: "It feels really bad to see a journalist who says their goal is to highlight women's discomfort in the workplace go about it by then making a woman uncomfortable in her workplace."
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I hate flaming other journalists, especially when they're helping to publicize my work. But I am so sick of seeing my Riot reporting and writing straight-up rephrased (sometimes just barely) by male reporters who are only now deciding the issue is worth their time.
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A lot of readers have reached out about my Riot reporting with praise and encouragement. I'm feeling so grateful to (first of all) my sources, but also to people who take time out of their day to make a journalist's long hours feel even more worthwhile. Here's why I mention this:
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the truth, as always, is messy.
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Our story on YouTube drama, queen Poki and the brand circus industrial complex:
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this third-week-head-cold journalist just accepted the
@NYVGCC
award for best games journalism for the Riot reporting. big thanks to my sources (again), along with kleenex and advil, without which i could not have even mustered this sad attempt at a smile
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Very sad: Twitch is poised to announce plans to cut approximately 500 workers as soon as tomorrow, Bloomberg has learned:
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“I knew I was gonna do this for about a month and a half. . . Even if people don’t see my Reddit post or tweet, people are going to ask why there are 23 players. It was calculated.” --
@G3RRYT
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It's been a year since our report on sexism at Riot Games. After speaking with 14 employees, an update on the company's accountability and diversity efforts:
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Let's talk about
@EscapistMag
's teaser for their Riot video. In it, a femme Riot employee offered a flustered response when asked about Kotaku's allegations that Riot fostered a sexist culture. The trailer was pulled (as was their feature on ethics in games journalism).
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I'll get a next-gen console eventually, but for now, I've got a very long HDMI cable 😅
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More sad news: Riot is laying off 11% of staff or 530 people. Story incoming.
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A dozen Pokemon fans have accused four Pokemon YouTubers/streamers or affiliates of predation:
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tfw your company's IT manager remotely accesses your computer and you work for Kotaku
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For example, lots of right-wing political YouTubers who espouse extreme views have been rewarded (in views and subscribers) for spreading totally wild conspiracy theories. That's a fact. More here:
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I'm open to scrutinizing media narratives, but doing so (and so forcefully) based on an extensive email with an accused company head and video calls arranged by the company definitely makes me raise an eyebrow.
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Predators use Twitch to systematically find, follow and even groom children--sometimes simultaneously. Any kid with a phone can start streaming on Twitch immediately, as opposed to livestreaming competitors TikTok and YouTube. Our story:
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this took a very, very long time and I am proud to showcase these quite gallant women
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