Mike Bithell
@mikebithell.bsky.social
Director of video games. Most recently TRON: Catalyst, previously Thomas Was Alone, Subsurface Circular etc etc
I love these two
Officially into our SEVENTH YEAR of Play, Watch, Listen 💜! A huge thank you to everyone who listens to this show, which is very much just a regular conversation between @mikebithell.bsky.social @awintory.bsky.social & I, where the middle part just happens to be recorded.
The first PWL of 2026 is an extra long one, tackling an important question: why don’t more video games have sex scenes? (& also @awintory.bsky.social’s list of ‘must watch’ TNG episodes)
youtu.be/1n9Vy059BT8
youtu.be/1n9Vy059BT8
January 18, 2026 at 8:56 AM
I love these two
Reposted by Mike Bithell
As Pratchett said:
January 17, 2026 at 7:43 PM
As Pratchett said:
Ah god damn it. Was unaware, or forgot, lol.
There was chatter, but some people found gen Ai art and subtitles in the game which stop people talking about it real quick.
January 16, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Ah god damn it. Was unaware, or forgot, lol.
Hmmm, I’m sick but having a real good time on a belated play of The Alters. Great score I don’t remember hearing chatter about when it came out too.
January 16, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Hmmm, I’m sick but having a real good time on a belated play of The Alters. Great score I don’t remember hearing chatter about when it came out too.
It’s heart breaking how unprepared the US mindset and infrastructure is for what’s coming.
‘It’s not who we are’.
‘It’s not who we are’.
January 16, 2026 at 10:59 AM
It’s heart breaking how unprepared the US mindset and infrastructure is for what’s coming.
‘It’s not who we are’.
‘It’s not who we are’.
That’s how to do it. Lots of respect.
Something positive: Spry Fox is spinning out of Netflix. We are independent (once again!) and preparing to launch Spirit Crossing.
We wrote up a little blog post musing about this wild adventure. Worth sharing the good news.
spryfox.com/a-16-year-ol...
We wrote up a little blog post musing about this wild adventure. Worth sharing the good news.
spryfox.com/a-16-year-ol...
A 16-year-old baby is born! Miracles do happen.
After three years under the Netflix umbrella, Spry Fox is once again a fully independent studio. As a studio, we’ve managed to somehow survive countless industry upheavals and release a whole lot o…
spryfox.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM
That’s how to do it. Lots of respect.
An interesting video of which I have absolutely no public opinion youtu.be/dnuipPQDd_w?...
Rockstar vs. Union: We Went to Court and Saw the Evidence
YouTube video by People Make Games
youtu.be
January 15, 2026 at 2:05 PM
An interesting video of which I have absolutely no public opinion youtu.be/dnuipPQDd_w?...
Happy new Star Trek day to all who celebrate
January 15, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Happy new Star Trek day to all who celebrate
Reposted by Mike Bithell
HEY HEY it's NEWS 'O CLOCK.
'EARTH MUST DIE' is coming out on the 27th of Jan, which is alarmingly soon!
Please pop over here and wishlist it, and do share if you're able. Thank you.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
'EARTH MUST DIE' is coming out on the 27th of Jan, which is alarmingly soon!
Please pop over here and wishlist it, and do share if you're able. Thank you.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
January 14, 2026 at 5:02 PM
HEY HEY it's NEWS 'O CLOCK.
'EARTH MUST DIE' is coming out on the 27th of Jan, which is alarmingly soon!
Please pop over here and wishlist it, and do share if you're able. Thank you.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
'EARTH MUST DIE' is coming out on the 27th of Jan, which is alarmingly soon!
Please pop over here and wishlist it, and do share if you're able. Thank you.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
I’m good at encouraging great work from others, and I can pick up new skills / tools very quickly. I’m also motivated to a somewhat unhealthy degree (which leads to high productivity)
Artists, I think we're all too comfortable sharing our imposter syndrome.
I would love to see you step out of your comfort zone and confidently state what you think you're actually really good at.
No self deprecation, just what you think you're the strongest at
Is anyone brave eniough? 👀
I would love to see you step out of your comfort zone and confidently state what you think you're actually really good at.
No self deprecation, just what you think you're the strongest at
Is anyone brave eniough? 👀
January 14, 2026 at 9:08 PM
I’m good at encouraging great work from others, and I can pick up new skills / tools very quickly. I’m also motivated to a somewhat unhealthy degree (which leads to high productivity)
Reposted by Mike Bithell
is AI real life
is it just fantasy
caught up in the hype
no escape from reality
is it just fantasy
caught up in the hype
no escape from reality
August 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
is AI real life
is it just fantasy
caught up in the hype
no escape from reality
is it just fantasy
caught up in the hype
no escape from reality
So Traitors.. the law enforcement and prosecution contingent.. they’re not exactly working to turn around anyone’s presuppositions about the qualities that draw one to those professions, are they.
January 14, 2026 at 8:35 PM
So Traitors.. the law enforcement and prosecution contingent.. they’re not exactly working to turn around anyone’s presuppositions about the qualities that draw one to those professions, are they.
Reposted by Mike Bithell
FLY THAT FLAG HIGH
The big takeaways from my predictions issue for game devs are:
- Indies who are gen AI free should fly that flag high, as Steam is going to filled with slop this year.
- If you're a games studio with opinions on AI, unless you have done something people will actually like, just shut up.
- Indies who are gen AI free should fly that flag high, as Steam is going to filled with slop this year.
- If you're a games studio with opinions on AI, unless you have done something people will actually like, just shut up.
We're kicking 2026 into high gear with a newsletter issue on predictions for AI in the games industry this year.
It covers the big issues we expect to see in the next 12 months. Including a prediction of 7000 AI-tagged games on Steam - which is not great.
www.aiandgames.com/p/10-predict...
It covers the big issues we expect to see in the next 12 months. Including a prediction of 7000 AI-tagged games on Steam - which is not great.
www.aiandgames.com/p/10-predict...
January 14, 2026 at 10:39 AM
FLY THAT FLAG HIGH
You don’t understand, we gotta burn out senior experienced devs, so we can keep having the same 5 discourses on a loop. There is a very real risk that if we treat people with respect and manage them well that we might have to stop re-debating basic terminology and practices.
January 14, 2026 at 8:39 AM
You don’t understand, we gotta burn out senior experienced devs, so we can keep having the same 5 discourses on a loop. There is a very real risk that if we treat people with respect and manage them well that we might have to stop re-debating basic terminology and practices.
Not at DICE this year, probably continuing to not be in the US more generally for the foreseeable. Ping me in the places you ping me for a substitute virtual hang.
January 13, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Not at DICE this year, probably continuing to not be in the US more generally for the foreseeable. Ping me in the places you ping me for a substitute virtual hang.
Definitely grab this at the same time you’re buying Subsurface Circular in the Steam Detective Fest
The Drifter v1.1 update is live! And 20% off for the Steam Detective Fest!
The team at @thewarlocs.bsky.social added Spanish, French and Italian loc, and I've added support for fan translations too, so you can play in like... pirate-speak if ye be wantin'! ☠️☠️☠️ store.steampowered.com/news/app/117...
The team at @thewarlocs.bsky.social added Spanish, French and Italian loc, and I've added support for fan translations too, so you can play in like... pirate-speak if ye be wantin'! ☠️☠️☠️ store.steampowered.com/news/app/117...
The Drifter - Update v1.1! Awards! More Languages! - Steam News
The Drifter v1.1 adds official support for Italian, French and Spanish, plus fan translations! And it's 20% off for the Steam Detective Fest!
store.steampowered.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Definitely grab this at the same time you’re buying Subsurface Circular in the Steam Detective Fest
Reposted by Mike Bithell
Aching to read about the making of top indie gems like Hades, Cuphead, Undertale, and MORE!?
@bitmapbooks.com has found some extra copies of my book down the back of the sofa - live on site now: www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
(FYI: this'll be the last few until the 2nd edition restock)
@bitmapbooks.com has found some extra copies of my book down the back of the sofa - live on site now: www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
(FYI: this'll be the last few until the 2nd edition restock)
50 Indie Games that Changed the World
Discover the stories behind 50 of the most influential indie games released in the past two decades including Hades, Hyper Light Drifter, Spelunky and more.
www.bitmapbooks.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Aching to read about the making of top indie gems like Hades, Cuphead, Undertale, and MORE!?
@bitmapbooks.com has found some extra copies of my book down the back of the sofa - live on site now: www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
(FYI: this'll be the last few until the 2nd edition restock)
@bitmapbooks.com has found some extra copies of my book down the back of the sofa - live on site now: www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
(FYI: this'll be the last few until the 2nd edition restock)
AI use: boo
Writing the best final line in videogame history: A+
Writing the best final line in videogame history: A+
greatest steam update of all time, because of one unnecessary detail
January 12, 2026 at 10:21 PM
AI use: boo
Writing the best final line in videogame history: A+
Writing the best final line in videogame history: A+
Hehe, I am disastrously shallow, and an intentionally ugly asset will always demotivate me. I make the best looking thing I can, and put that in, and I’m constantly replacing the worst thing with the new best thing til release. For content made by others, I’ll ask for placeholder wip from them
What's your placeholder philosophy? Do you make everything neon and obviously temp to make sure you don't miss it, or do you go for something more subtle and just make sure everything is tracked properly?
I try to stick to the latter, but sometimes its 3am and I'm doing one last thing before bed...
I try to stick to the latter, but sometimes its 3am and I'm doing one last thing before bed...
January 12, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Hehe, I am disastrously shallow, and an intentionally ugly asset will always demotivate me. I make the best looking thing I can, and put that in, and I’m constantly replacing the worst thing with the new best thing til release. For content made by others, I’ll ask for placeholder wip from them
I start making it. If I’m on a big team with folks then there’s a responsibility to do ‘proper’ preproduction, but I’m much more comfortable making a thing by creating the shit execution of an idea, then fixing it
What's your approach to turning an idea for a project into a coherent vision that you can actually follow?
January 12, 2026 at 10:42 AM
I start making it. If I’m on a big team with folks then there’s a responsibility to do ‘proper’ preproduction, but I’m much more comfortable making a thing by creating the shit execution of an idea, then fixing it
As a general theme, unsurprisingly, I think its biggest weaknesses, from my perspective, are around handling big stacks of content.. I’d love to be able to edit resources simultaneously.
You said you liked Godot, but what is the biggest thing you'd like to see changed about it?
January 12, 2026 at 10:35 AM
As a general theme, unsurprisingly, I think its biggest weaknesses, from my perspective, are around handling big stacks of content.. I’d love to be able to edit resources simultaneously.
Honestly, a cool part of this process has been creating my own versions of stock unity assets, but with features I actually want.. the audio manager for the next thing is hand made on top of godot’s cool audio tools, for example.
Godot also just comes nicely stocked
Godot also just comes nicely stocked
How far have you been able to mimic former tools made for your games in previous engines (don't know if you used other things besides Unity) in Godot?
I mean tools you made for internal use, not other available tools.
I mean tools you made for internal use, not other available tools.
January 12, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Honestly, a cool part of this process has been creating my own versions of stock unity assets, but with features I actually want.. the audio manager for the next thing is hand made on top of godot’s cool audio tools, for example.
Godot also just comes nicely stocked
Godot also just comes nicely stocked
Train AMA, let’s gooooo
January 12, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Train AMA, let’s gooooo
Reposted by Mike Bithell
The developers of PEAK explain pricing
January 12, 2026 at 7:01 AM
The developers of PEAK explain pricing