Jason Schreier

Jason Schreier is an American journalist and author who covers the video game industry. Schreier is best known for reporting on labour conditions, including crunch culture. Schreier’s most notable books are Blood, Sweat, and Pixels (2017), Press Reset (2021), and Play Nice (2024).

Jason Schreier studied at New York University. He attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He graduated in 2009 with a degree in Writing.

After university, Jason worked as a freelance journalist. The early work included local news coverage. In 2010, Schreier began writing for Wired. He covered video games and related technology. Schreier continued that work until 2012. Schreier also wrote a weekly column at Joystiq on Japanese role-playing games. Other bylines appeared in Kill Screen, Edge, Eurogamer, G4TV, GamesRadar, and Paste.

In 2011, Schreier joined Kotaku as a full-time news reporter. The offer came from Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo. Schreier later became news editor before leaving the site. At Kotaku, Schreier reported on game news and studio work. Schreier built a reputation for sourcing accounts from game developers.

The reporting often described long overtime and tight deadlines. Schreier used the term “crunch time” in this work, with the focus on weeks or months of overtime. He also reported that the practice was not limited to large firms. The same report said smaller studios could also rely on crunch.

Schreier also investigated troubled game projects. Reporting covered problems faced by Bungie during Destiny development. Schreier also wrote about Project Ragtag, a planned Star Wars game at Visceral Games. Reporting connected the project’s end with the studio’s closure. Schreier later reported on issues during the development of Anthem at BioWare and Electronic Arts. Schreier used accounts from workers, often anonymous, to outline internal setbacks.

In 2013, Schreier wrote a story on the cancellation of Prey 2. The report cited internal communications that Schreier had received. The same record says Bethesda later “blacklisted” Kotaku. The notes state that the change began in 2015, with no review copies or access to events. Schreier also faced a hostile reaction after reporting on a delay to No Man’s Sky. Schreier and Hello Games founder Sean Murray received death threats after that report.

In 2017, Schreier published Blood, Sweat, and Pixels (2017). The book examines how video games are made. The work focuses on production stories and studio realities.

In 2019, Kotaku’s owner, G/O Media, changed editorial demands. Schreier linked later decisions to a dispute at Deadspin in October 2019. Schreier left Kotaku in April 2020. He said, “I’ve been through a lot of cataclysmic shifts. I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.” The quote referred to confidence in management support for journalism.

In April 2020, Schreier joined Bloomberg News. Schreier joined a technology team and continued covering games and studios. In 2021, Schreier published Press Reset (2021). The book describes volatility in the game industry. The book became a New York Times non-fiction bestseller in the week of 30 May 2021. In October 2024, Schreier released Play Nice (2024), a history of Blizzard Entertainment.

Jason Schreier also co-hosts the podcast Triple Click with Kirk Hamilton and Maddy Myers. He lives in the New York City area.

Photo credit: Alecto Chardon, CC BY-SA 4.0.