Keith Stuart
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Keith Stuart
@keefstuart.bsky.social
Novelist. Video game correspondent for The Guardian. He/him 💖
Hi, I asked some lovely developers for their favourite Christmas gaming memories. Please have a read and add your own in the comments section. Also, if you celebrate this season or not, all the very best wishes to you from the Guardian games team xx

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
‘I plugged in Zelda and everything changed’: developers share their fondest Christmas gaming memories
From a family showdown on Guitar Hero III to the winter levels in Diddy Kong Racing, the designers of some of today’s top titles recall the gifts and moments that lit up their childhoods
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Keza and I wrote about Vince Zampella. I suspect I have spent more time in his games than anyone else’s - I’m sure I’m not alone

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
Call of Duty’s Vince Zampella was a video games visionary
Zampella created the template for multiplayer shooters that is still used today, and his cinematic and epic military, sci-fi and Star Wars games thrilled and moved millions
www.theguardian.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:10 AM
For some reason today, I have remembered the fascinating iPhone game Blackbar, from 2013 about a censorious dystopian regime

mrgan.com/blackbar/pre...
December 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is a whopping 55% off in the Steam Winter Sale!

Inspired by movies such as The Wicker Man & the works of M.R. James, with a little pinch of Twin Peaks and Lovecraft - our folk horror adventure is the perfect play for Christmas!

store.steampowered.com/app/1182310/...
December 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Hello, here are the best games of 2025 as chosen by Keza and me! Please enjoy responsibly

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
The 20 best video games of 2025
A family classic reborn in a wide open world, a satirical adventure through teenage life and a mystery puzzler for the ages – our critics on the year’s best fun
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Hiya, I recommended eight local multiplayer games to try with your family and friends this Christmas/winter!

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Karts, cakes and karaoke: the eight best party games to play with family this Christmas
Whether your household is in the mood for singing, driving, quizzing or shouting, here are our top choices for homely holiday fun
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Hello! I am writing a little thing on Christmas (or wintery festive) gaming memories - e.g. getting particular consoles or games as presents or just memories of playing games. Do you have any that mean something to you? My DMs are open if you want to share?! Xx
December 18, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
Delighted to see this piece up! Massive thank you to all the women who shared their experience with me for this 🖤

www.gamesindustry.biz/a-decade-on-...
A decade on from Gamergate, how has the games industry changed for women?
Some of gaming's most influential women share their experiences, along with what still needs to be done
www.gamesindustry.biz
December 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
There should be a Nobel prize for games preservation
As part of our project to preserve the history of Sega Channel, we have recovered OVER 100 new Sega Channel ROMs, including the legendary lost game Garfield: Caught in the Act - The Lost Levels.

Read more: gamehistory.org/segachannel/
December 17, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
You don't need to write about the vibe-coded game btw.
December 15, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
VIDEOVERSE got 32/40 in Weekly Famitsu and entered the Famitsu Gold Hall of Fame! 🥳🥇

A huge thanks to everyone who helped on the Japanese localisation – This one is for you! 😄
December 15, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Incredible charity shop DVD haul this morning!
December 11, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
What was your go to Sega magazine back in the day? I spoke to MegaTech editor Paul Glancey about the good old days.

👉 www.forgottenworlds.net/megatech-mag...

#Sega #MegaDrive #SonicTheHedeghog #StreetsOfRage #RetroGaming ☀️🌴
December 11, 2025 at 7:55 AM
I think I am very late to this BUT if you haven’t played Evil Egg yet, play Evil Egg!! It is an incredible twin stick shooter which feels like some lost Commodore 64 masterpiece - you can pay what you like!

ivysly.itch.io/evil-egg
Evil Egg by ivysly
Twin-stick paradise.
ivysly.itch.io
December 7, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
I spoke to @fortune.com about my upcoming book Super Nintendo and the secret(s) to Nintendo's enduring success - a large part of which is cultivating and caring for developers instead of hiring and firing everyone in yearly cycles.

(Book deets: linktr.ee/super_nintendo)

fortune.com/2025/11/28/s...
Nintendo’s secret to becoming a design powerhouse? Developers who have stayed at the company for decades | Fortune
“The people who first made Nintendo’s hits are still working at the company,” says Keza MacDonald, author of a forthcoming book about Nintendo.
fortune.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
My book about Nintendo is out soon! Early readers have said incredibly nice things about it! Pre-order here for US/UK: linktr.ee/super_nintendo
December 4, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
So @mikerose.bsky.social & I decided to do a silly podcast comparing notes about indie games & their history & also about suddenly being middle-aged & tired

As anyone who knows both of us could have guessed, shenanigans ensued immediately

Introducing ⭐ Mike & Rami Are Still Here ⭐

mikeandrami.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Hi, for this week’s Pushing Buttons newsletter I talked to Dan Houser about the influence of Victorian literature on his games writing - especially Middlemarch on Red Dead Redemption 2 - it was a really interesting chat!

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
Dan Houser on Victorian novels, Red Dead Redemption and redefining open-world games
As the Grand Theft Auto co-writer launches a new project, he reflects on his hugely successful open-world adventures and where game design might go next
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Hi, Keza and I decided on the 15 most important Xbox 360 games. I’m afraid we will not be taking questions

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/d...
From Gears of War to Uno: the 15 most important Xbox 360 games
As the Xbox 360 turns 20, we celebrate its most influential and memorable games – both exclusives, and those that came to the console first
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
New article is live!

Why did the UK have so many Sega specific magazines compared to the US? I asked a bunch of magazine editors from the 16bit era. Link below👇

#Sega #MegaDrive #SegaGenesis #SegaPower #MeanMachines #MasterSystem ☀️🌴
November 29, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
TONIGHT! Come play our game about taking billionaires to court for their climate CRIMES ✨
in london and free on nov 27? our narrative director @meghna.bsky.social will be at Play Praxis with a build of All 🌏Will⚖️ Rise -- come join for an evening of open discussion about meaningful games, curiosity & play, showcasing games in development 💪 www.eventbrite.com/e/play-praxi...
Play Praxis
Bringing together games in development and their makers with people across games, art, research, and philosophy. A space to play and connect
www.eventbrite.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
gathered together some of my old games that had fallen off the internet
smestorp.itch.io/lots-of-mich...
lots of michael brough games by Michael Brough
collection
smestorp.itch.io
November 26, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Keith Stuart
Last night's interview with Novara on the Rockstar firings is now up as its own standalone video, if you'd like to watch.

Delighted to see the story picked up by the wider media in this way, as surreal as it felt to appear on a show I've been watching for years now.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxuP...
Rockstar Games’ MASS Firing Of Unionised Workers
YouTube video by Novara Media
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Games industry: games are art

Also games industry: “This transaction supports our key priorities by strengthening our focus on strategic assets and core IPs”
November 26, 2025 at 9:19 AM