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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

Luis Paez-Pumar

University of Miami vs. Florida State University in 'College Football 25'

Video Games

‘College Football 25’ Is As Broken As It Is Fun

Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, and other publications.

Owen Lewis

In Netflix's Lucifer, three angels pause their battle after God interrupts.

Wings Week

On-Screen Angels Are Rarely Divine

Patrick Redford

Peanut Butter the dog gets going on his speedrun attempt

Peanut Butter The Dog Hits A Two-Run Blast, And The Crowd Goes Wild

Try And Quit And Try Again

Barry Petchesky

Billy Hale, age 7, Simi Valley celebrates a Nintendo victory over his brother. Photo/Art by:Alan Hagman

Video Games Should Be Easy, For Baby Gamers Like Me

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Fort Condor Mini-Game

‘Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’ Shouldn’t Have It All

Gita Jackson

Riley MacLeod

Journalismism

Kotaku EIC Resigns Over New Editorial Edict

A screenshot of Last Epoch, showing a knight overlooking a light-up city

I Love A Good Mid-Budget Video Game

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

A screenshot of a guy playing Mario 64 on the drums

This Guy Beats Video Games Using A Drum Kit As A Controller

Kathryn Xu

Screenshot of the opening screen of the video game Balatro.

It Is, In Fact, Preferable To Suck Real Bad At A Game Like ‘Balatro’

A screenshot of the "defector browser", which is just a simple looking browser but with slanted top and bottom like the Defector logo, and it's on a pale blue background, and the webpage up is a pixel art of an office that's an Athletic Director's office

Ever Dream Of Being An Athletic Director? This Video Game Lets You Do That

Alan Wake in front of some form of supernatural tornado

I’m Tired Of Being A Little Baby About Horror Games

A Genshin Impact app by miHoYo Limited logo is seen displayed on a smartphone.

How To Win In Gacha Gaming

Palworld monster with a striking resemblance to Electabuzz in Pokemon

Is ‘Palworld’ Plagiarism, Parody, Or Just Stupid?

Libby Watson is a writer, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/libtron">streamer</a> and <a href="https://www.patreon.com/whatsallthisthen">podcaster</a>.

Libby Watson

A collage of streamers from Twitchcon photos

Arts And Culture

Striving And Streaming In The Desert: A Visit To TwitchCon Las Vegas

World of Warcraft players garden in the Guardians of the Dream patch

‘World Of Warcraft’ Players Reach New Levels Of Degeneracy, Gardening

Luke Plunkett is a co-founder of the website <a href="https://aftermath.site/">Aftermath</a>.

Luke Plunkett

Most Video Game Artwork Will Never Be Seen

Funny how we get attached to the struggle.

It Is, In Fact, Possible To Get Too Good At A Video Game

(L-R) Corbin "COM" Lee, Christine "potter" Chi, Alexander "jawgemo" Mor and Kelden "Boostio" Pupello of Evil Geniuses pose onstage with the VALORANT Champions Los Angeles Trophy.

Christine “Potter” Chi And Her Evil Geniuses Made History

The Slow-Building Joys Of ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ And Turn-Based Combat

Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang of EDward Gaming poses after clutching against Giants Gaming at VALORANT Champions Los Angeles Group Stage.

‘Valorant’ Teams Learn Valuable Lesson About Shit-Talking

VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN - Groups

‘Valorant’ Has Given Us An Unbelievable Underdog Story

‘Diablo IV’ Isn’t Quite Sure What It Wants To Be

Gollum looks around; where are the buttholes?

The Video Game Where You Play As A Tortured Wretch Isn’t Very Fun

BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 14 : Fans cheering to game stage during the 2018 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Groups Stage at the EU LCS Studio on May 14, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games via Getty Images)