Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry by Jason Schreier

Based on dozens of firsthand interviews and covering the development of landmark games including Bioshock: Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more, and through the studios' shocking closures, this book will tell the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how and if they recover

Honestly, Schreier is too kind. Any professional developer looking at his case studies sees the sort of epic failure of management that would render even a genius into pariah in most competent industries. Game dev culture is built on a house of cards where the incompetence of leaders normalizes the inevitable crunch that results. Such a waste.

Jason Schreier has a way of writing that is immediately engaging and fascinating. I flew through this book and his previous one Blood, Sweat, & Pixels and would highly recommend both to anyone with even a passing interest in the video game industry. I appreciated the final chapter which focuses on ways the industry is exploring possible solutions, but felt it very short and probably worthy of its own book. There is also a strong focus on the "recovery" part of the title which perhaps paints a rosier picture than intended. Some of the heavier tolls the industry enacts on individual lives - divorce, personal bankruptcy, and depression aren't deeply explored. Still, great book. If you're already spending time reading this review - you should be reading this book.