Hit Points by Nathan Brown
hitpoints.bsky.social
Hit Points by Nathan Brown
@hitpoints.bsky.social
A newsletter about the game industry, by consultant, writer and former Edge editor Nathan Brown.

Sign up for free: https://newsletter.hitpoints.co/
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A free one on how these clowns can get absolutely fucked newsletter.hitpoints.co/324-going-da...
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today instead of buying barely discounted crap, get a paid subscription to an independent media outlet! a little $ goes a long way towards supporting a free press. 🗞️

drop links to your own or your faves in the replies so ppl can easily sign up (bonus if you add a couple words about why it’s good!):
November 28, 2025 at 4:36 PM
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A rare Pokémon appears: Mark Cerny, on the show, next week.
Just as Sonic the Hedgehog became a global icon, its creator, Yuji Naka, quit Sega.

In next week's episode, PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny reveals the story behind Sonic's leap to glory, and how Sonic 2 came to be developed in the U.S. under his leadership.

Available on Tuesday: bit.ly/43RMgx9
November 28, 2025 at 10:05 AM
A thousand thanks to the consulting client earlier this year who insisted their game needed 64GB of RAM. (It really didn't.) Had no idea prices had gone this insane. Fuckin AI!
November 25, 2025 at 8:58 PM
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We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
November 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
So powerfully embarrassing I’m considering a career change
Xbox Crocs announced, releasing tomorrow

➡️ houseofheat.co/crocs/xbox-c...
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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game design 101
November 21, 2025 at 11:46 AM
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“Our talented team with its own human hands and brains and souls decided that all this shitty art made by a computer was good enough to go in our game” is not a good defense of using AI tools to generate assets.
November 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
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I made a joke in my main Discord server about DOOM E1M1 being in a major key and @abigbagofkeys.sickonedude.com actually made it. Jesus fucking Christ listen to this hahahaha
November 14, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Hey Buddy! That door will only open when you shoot at with the phase beam upgrade. You should return here after you have collected that. By the way, Metroid is the name of the monster not the--
November 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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you can't just bring back austin powers. the franchise wrote itself into a corner after he volunteered to stay behind forever in the shagadelic dimension to save foxxy and vanessa. they already brought him back once without explaining how he escaped from fembot island, the audience won't buy it
November 11, 2025 at 1:48 PM
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty have been in the media recently, saying that the biggest competition for Xbox is TikTok.

Nathan Brown of @hitpoints.bsky.social isn't quite sure they know what that means...

thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/bonu... [PAYWALLED]
Hey Microsoft, TikTok Is Not an Xbox - Bonus Hit Points
Microsoft has been saying the biggest competition for its Xbox gaming business is TikTok. Nathan Brown isn't sure they know what that means.
thisweekinvideogames.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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I spent an afternoon with Miles Jacobson to talk about building (and cancelling) Football Manager over a more than 30 year career. www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/foot...
The man who cancelled Football Manager: ‘I needed a hug, not a kicking’
Miles Jacobson has World Cup winners on WhatsApp, dozens of football clubs who pay for his scouting network and 20 million players who all swear by Football Manager. Until last year, when the series' ...
www.gq-magazine.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 11:07 AM
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It's cool how we keep proving over and over and over again that there's a significant market for narrative-heavy, character-driven, single-player experiences in video games and publishers just categorically refuse to believe us
November 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
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October 31, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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If you live in or around Wakefield, UK and you're interested in the history of games, I'm giving a talk on the history of Worms and Team17 at Wakefield Museum on Saturday 22nd November.

Tickets are super limited; reserve one here: experiencewakefield.co.uk/event/30-yea...
30 Years of Worms with Team 17's Ashley Day
Explore the journey of Worms as it marks 30 years. Hear from Ashley Day about its creation and lasting legacy in gaming.
experiencewakefield.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 4:14 PM
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The perfect dad-joke doesnt exi-
November 1, 2025 at 8:36 PM
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Alan Wake 2
November 1, 2025 at 9:39 PM
The perfect dad-joke doesnt exi-
November 1, 2025 at 8:36 PM
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Remember to be considerate tonight while trick-or-treating!
October 31, 2025 at 4:03 PM
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Born in a small town in Yorkshire. Have 4 BAFTAs. Left UK because felt like the country was bad at celebrating and supporting its creatives! 🤷‍♂️

(*Moved to US. They love creatives here! We just got to pay for our own healthcare and all that 🫠)
Hi Lisa Nandy! I’m a BAFTA winner from a small town. Instead of asinine questions like this, why not tell us how we can continue to make a living in the eviscerated creative sector over which you notionally preside?
October 31, 2025 at 7:39 PM
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just shared this in a group and realised it’s the anniversary of this absolute s tier tweet by @jon-snow-420.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 5:55 PM
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We're just getting started.

Time to lower bills. And tax billionaires.

If you want to see the Green Party take on Reform - this is the moment.

Join.greenparty.org.uk
Westminster Voting Intention:

RFM: 32% (=)
GRN: 17% (+2)
CON: 16% (-1)
LAB: 16% (=)
LDM: 12% (=)
SNP: 2% (=)

Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 29 Oct.
Changes w/ 22 Oct.
October 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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Back in my day, AI used to stand for Adobe Illustrator! And we hated that, too!
October 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
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What the fuck is this shit?
I asked Microsoft PR about this—specially the DHS using Halo IP to recruit for ICE—and the company declined to comment.
October 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM