Francisco Dominguez

Indie devs are hitting the jackpot by repurposing gambling's flashy UX, enticing rewards and powerful loops. I wrote about the ethical questions behind the gambling-roguelike, how the "quest for retention" shapes the games we play, and where pursuing flow risks stepping into the machine zone.

ended up on an extremely weird site while trying to look up some basic information a couple of weeks ago and it sent me down a deep rabbit hole www.eurogamer.net/ai-fan-wikis...

When losing a job means losing a career: what comes next for laid off games journalists? aftermath.site/aftermath-game...

If you're taking time off work for OoT, GTA VI or WoW Forever I want to hear from you for a piece in national news. Have a few interesting cases so far but hoping to hear from anons who are pulling a sickie on the day 😀 won't snitch! Please email dctrjr (at) proton (dot) me. Cheesecake unrelated.

For my last PAX Australia piece, I chatted to Final Fantasy XIV players, Koji Fox and Foxclon about a once-scattered community that's flourished since the Oceania regional server went live. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...

For my last PAX Australia piece, I chatted to Final Fantasy XIV players, Koji Fox and Foxclon about a once-scattered community that's flourished since the Oceania regional server went live. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...

It’s been a hot minute but I’m back in the New York Times! I spoke with Infinity Ward about portraying the Korean War conflict in COD MW4 and real world events, as well as actor Young Mazino about his lead role as Park Hyun-Jun www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/a...

11,000 WORD ORAL HISTORY OF THE CIVILIZATION FRANCHISE GO www.polygon.com/civilization...

Pouring one out for Bioware this morning, and thinking of their rise and fall across such a long period. It's oddly close to home, for someone who never worked there, and only in an adjoining industry. But I did get to see behind the curtain once, and it stuck with me.

📣Calling all women and femme writers📣 I am looking to commission around 10 heartfelt essays surrounding video game criticism. If this sounds like something you are down to do them read on and I urge you to apply. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

To honor one of the studios that defined PC gaming, we've republished more than 20 articles about BioWare today. The pcgamer.com homepage is dedicated to interviews, retrospectives, and making-ofs about some of the best RPGs of all time.

Opinion: Xbox already has a marketing team and (unless I'm mistaken) journalists are not on its payroll A conveyer belt of toothless Asha Sharma profiles have shown one thing: reporters who get access must do better

Hello! I'm looking to speak to: 1. Devs involved in the decompilation scene who can speak to how the community has been affected by AI. 2. Devs who have or suspect they have had their game copied by AI vibe coders. If either of those is you, contact me at rick@ricklane.co.uk. Shares appreciated!

🎮Play Now is a fascinating event, with nervous moments, lost words, excitement, rapid bug fixing. It’s quieter in a way than much of the rest of the MIGW fare but the stakes are higher. I stepped inside the room where deals are made on the next big Aussie video game www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...

I've got a column coming about the "core team" thing but the codev/exdev/outsourcing framework that Fuse Games uses is like--the thing?! that I've been trying to describe?! For a year?! There's a lot to *improve* on this model but it's a way to distribute risk on games made by hundreds of people.

I’m a little biased, obv, but [lock-on] 007 has some pretty stellar features, gang. Get on it if you haven’t already: www.lostincult.co.uk/lockon

Another Pax Aus piece: I chatted to Gregory Louden about the Saros: Zenith update, and how the base game tackled Returnal's biggest problem: not enough players getting to the finish line. gametyrant.com/news/intervi...

I’ve attempted to report on the Freeplay Parallels 2026 situation as comprehensively as I can at this point in time, over one week later. I’ve received comments from the Melbourne International Games Week organising team on the matter, and Wren has also provided some new remarks.

Penguin Colony is now available store.steampowered.com/app/3695930/...

On the topic of Warhammer fiction, I've always been surprised at the games journalist to Black Library pipeline, including Nate Crowley, Robert Rath, Chris Thursten and Cassandra Khaw. Not to mention Jes Bickham (who edited the enjoyably goofy NGC I read obsessively) leading 40k narrative.

We're a year-old today! To celebrate, we're making five changes to the site — and dropping the price of our most popular paid subscription tier.

Hello! Small bit of good games media news I wanted to share: Eurogamer editorial (non-guides) is up for consecutive months year on year, and on average since May, despite being down more than 40% full time staff (plus video, commerce, DF etc) for that period. I am very, very, very proud of the team.

Hard to imagine a wider and deeper zoo sim than Planet Zoo 2, but its potential for greatness is weighed down by a few too many UI frustrations, needlessly obtuse mechanics, and maddening bugs. Its core audience will eat well, tho. Review for @gamewatcher.com: www.gamewatcher.com/planet-zoo-2...

I chatted to @veselekov.bsky.social about how Penguin Colony reinterprets "the ultimate skull measurer" HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos into a commentary on settler colonialism, and recreates the spirit of GTA: San Andreas' hunt for Bigfoot.

🎉 HUGE CAREER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉 Today, I'm launching Vertical Slice, a new independent trade outlet committed to producing quality video game journalism that inspires, informs, and interrogates. That means daily news, incisive interviews, vital investigative work, and more. www.verticalslice.news

I chatted to @veselekov.bsky.social about how Penguin Colony reinterprets "the ultimate skull measurer" HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos into a commentary on settler colonialism, and recreates the spirit of GTA: San Andreas' hunt for Bigfoot.

WE ARE SOLD OUT AT @paxaus.bsky.social THIS YEAR. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL. YOU ARE THE BEST. YOU CAN STILL BUY THE MAG ONLINE AT ACMI OR GO INTO ACMI AT FED SQUARE AND GRAB SOME COPIES 💚 MORE SALES SPOTS IN THIS THREAD AFTER WE EAT FOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WEEKEND XO

We speak to VGC's @andyrobinson.bsky.social, The Game Business's Chris Dring and RPG Site and Respec's @apzonerunner.com on the future of the independent game media and the increasing importance of reader support.

I'm talking Freeplay over on Infinite Lives today:

If we were told how much benefit our country collectively gets from people making stuff up out of their heads, a truly socially mobile option, we wouldn’t know our proper place. It’s why they’ve made the arts almost impossible to pursue for ordinary people. Get back on your trawler, prole scum.

Loved reading this piece on Blood of Dawnwalker by @dominguezf.bsky.social www.gamespot.com/articles/the...

Every month Failbetter invites a guest writer from the wider world of games and fiction to contribute a subscriber story. They’re brave and weird and funny and choice-driven and perhaps they could become a welcome part of your routine too. www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fa...

Long time no talk, here to shout about my second IGN 9 for Fields of Mistria 🌟 www.ign.com/articles/fie...

I chatted to a boss design consultant about a boss archetype staple that everyone recognises but never had a widely-agreed name.

today was my first day being OFFICIALLY laid off, and my first @gamespot.com byline.... what a coincidence! 🦋 www.gamespot.com/articles/sil...

Thrilled this one is finally up: for the New York Times, I spoke to @molleindustria.org about his very funny, very revolutionary eco-socialist, open-world adventure, Future? No Thanks! 🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/a...

IT'S GAMES WEEK+!!!!!! CONTINUE 01 is here. We made a magazine to celebrate and interrogate videogames and culture. It's print. It's tangible. It's real. It's available to purchase now. Regular Edition -- shop.acmi.net.au/products/con... Special Edition -- shop.acmi.net.au/products/con...

I chatted to a boss design consultant about a boss archetype staple that everyone recognises but never had a widely-agreed name.

new feature! back on RPS! i don't like deadpool in his contemporary form. i do, however, like deadpool in tokon quite a lot, as someone plugged into the FGC. please give it a read! this was really fun to work on, and i'm grateful to RPS for taking on a kinda niche pitch 💜

An excellet report here from @connormakar.bsky.social on the brewing situation at Gears studio The Coalition, where - unsurprisingly - there seems to be rapidly vanishing trust between developers (who have been "crunching hard") and their parent company.

Games and tech freelancers : I am once again asking for freelance pitches for PC hardware features (not reviews or guides, sorry!) on RPS. Email's in bio, genAI users need not apply (it's much, much easier to spot than you think)

Needless to say I am very fucking proud that Maddie took this one out! Maddie’s work is tremendous, her writing is sharp and funny. She has big ideas and is willing to reach for the sky. She was still studying when she came on board last year! Remarkable young journalist! So far to go!!

Andrey Surnov's concept work for Jusant in my brain again this morning. Can't think of a game set among ruins that made me more desperate to see more of its world. So few games manage such an original and rich aesthetic, so sad the team never got to make more.

This week: Ace Combat, Resident Evil, Sonic CD, and lots more: critical-distance.com/2026/09/27/s...

Stay where you are. Don't move. Read these good articles about videogames. www.jank.cool/the-lie-in-35/