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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Tom Ley

Patrick Redford

Video Games

A Discussion Between Two Burgeoning ‘Elden Ring’ Freaks

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

‘Elden Ring’ Is Super Fun To Not Play

Luis Paez-Pumar

‘Halo Infinite’ Brought Me Back To The Beginning


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trevor Strunk is a longtime Philadelphia sports fan and sports belligerent. He is also the host of <a href="https://www.no-cartridge.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No Cartridge Audio</a>, a podcast about video games and culture. His book <em>Story Mode </em>considers games series over time and the way they respond to audience and authorial demands. You can see more from him at <a href="https://twitter.com/Hegelbon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@Hegelbon</a> on Twitter and all across the finest freelance publications online.</p>


Trevor Strunk

A fan cheers for id Software executive producer as he speaks about DOOM. The cover of Trevor Strunk's book, Story Mode, is in the lower right corner.

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

How To Get Away With Making An Ultraviolent Video Game

Giri Nathan

Gamer Wins Tournament, Dislocates Shoulder In Celebration

Sylvanas Windrunner in the World of Warcraft raid Sanctum of Domination

‘World Of Warcraft’ Won’t Stop Torturing Some Of Its Most Hardcore Players

<p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">Marc Normandin currently writes on baseball’s labor issues and more at </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="http://marcnormandin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://marcnormandin.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1758998321491000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZpjG5RUFwdpapWqR1u4bd">marcnormandin.com</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">, which you can read for free but support </span><a style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif" href="https://www.patreon.com/marcnormandin">through his Patreon</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif">. His baseball writing has appeared at FOX Sports, SB Nation, Defector, Global Sport Matters, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Sports on Earth, The Guardian, The Nation, FAIR, and TalkPoverty, and you can read his takes on video games at Retro XP and Endless Mode.</span></p>
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Marc Normandin

An employee rolls out the new Sony PS5 in Japan.

Gaming’s All-Digital-Everything Future Threatens To Erase The Past

‘Disco Elysium’ Is Rewiring My Broken Gamer’s Brain


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

What 1993 Video Game Tony La Russa Taught Me About Baseball

Kelsey McKinney

Inside Blaseball

Cycling

The Growth Of Virtual Cycling Comes With Convoluted Cheating Scandals

Magazine covers with Cyberpunk characters are seen in the headquarter of CD PROJECT - the most important polish game developer company, poses for a photo on December 4, 20202 before the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 game, in Warsaw, Poland.

Interviews

A Former Video Game Journalist Lays Out The Power Dynamics In The Review Process

Albert Burneko

Media Meltdowns

At Least Now You Know Which Video Game Reviewers Are Sellout Clowns

Going On Runs

One of Cyberpunk 2077's many glitches, a man riding naked on top of a car

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Is The Perfect Example Of What’s Broken In The Video Games Industry

A screencap from Dream's record-setting run.

Let’s Dive Into This ‘Minecraft’ YouTuber Speedrunning Drama

The PS5 Is Pretty Useless Right Now, So Please Don’t Freak Out About Not Getting One

Miles Morales looks on Spider-Man: Miles Morales

‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ One-Ups Its Predecessor By Focusing On The Teen Behind The Mask

A look at my fully operational JET-style tokamak, churning out big numbers of what could be power but might in fact be deadly radiation.