@jacksonwryan.com
not a spy. investigative journalist. President, Science Journalists Association of Australia. i write about people, science, integrity, dodgy stuff, video games, art newsletter: nobreakthroughs.substack.com
How I'm gonna sleep tonight after seeing how many people supported and understood what @jacksonwryan.com and I wanna do with @continuemag.bsky.social
Thank you so much. Such a mad, overwhelming day.
Excited to be back contributing to the thing that started my career in the first place: Australian PRINT MAGAZINES!
Thank you mate, I appreciate it!!!
Ahhhhhhh. Sobbing my little eyes out. We just hit the three hour mark and we are over 50% funded already. This is immense. I can only say thank you thank you thank you to everyone contributing and sharing and asking for more of this. AHhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I remember !!! 🙏
I had the immense pleasure of putting together an illustration for this new australian Magazine, very humbled that that @serrels.bsky.social and @jacksonwryan.com chose me to scribble on their first cover.
Please consider backing local australian journalism. there are stories here worth telling.
1000% -- I know how much amazing stuff is going on in NZ, and saw so much on display at Gamescom. We want to come over for NZGDC too, so yes, so much scope. We might even do a whole issue on NZ there's that much happening there!
We wanted to make something real and tangible and lasting, away from algorithms and AI, and centre quality art and quality writing. And you can hold it in your hands if this Kickstarter is successful!!!!!! That would rule.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/con...
This is a dream project for @serrels.bsky.social and I, and it features incredible illustrated cover art from Jack Kirby Crosby and amazing contributors writing about the industry, games, Sega World and much more.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/con...
I could not be more stoked to announce CONTINUE, a defiant, new games magazine that aims to celebrate and interrogate the culture, creativity and community of videogames. The Kickstarter is now live below. www.kickstarter.com/projects/con...
Oh damn. I am pretty sure this is the same company.
ALT:Games with some BIG:Names!
Crazy how many of these updates I have written since June last year and yet somehow, this website still gets to be front and centre on Google search terms like "Halfbrick layoffs", sucking up all the oxygen on actual work. It's not just AI summaries that hurt publications!
You saw this? Gameshub essentially not a place anyone should be visiting unless they really love reading AI generated explainers
bsky.app/profile/jack...
I can imagine it has more resonance for you Dan! A garish piece, clearly _inspired by_ pieces like that gamesindustry dot biz and TWIV and then squished through the AI meat grinder.
5. Hollow Knight: Silksong (Confirmed Release Window) Developer: Team Cherry (Adelaide) Genre: Metroidvania Platform: All Platforms We know, we know. Listing Hollow Knight: Silksong as an “upcoming” 2026 game is both obvious and slightly cheeky. However, after years of silence and speculation, Adelaide’s Team Cherry has finally confirmed that Hornet’s long-awaited sequel is scheduled for a Q3 2026 release. It is, quite simply, the most anticipated indie game in the world. Silksong takes players to a new kingdom, Pharloom, offering faster, more acrobatic combat and an even more expansive world than its predecessor. When Silksong lands, it won’t just dominate the 2026 discussion in Australia; it will be the center of the global gaming conversation.
Today on GamesHub, a website with very real authors, Tanaka Haruto is promoting "upcoming" video game "Hollow Knight: Silksong" confirmed to released in Q3 2026.
"When Silksong lands, it won’t just dominate the 2026 discussion in Australia; it will be the center of the global gaming conversation."
A little background here on the very long, very intense investigative work Aftermath published this week on the gamblification of gaming sites. Glad that the reporting has resonated with people and hope to see more support for independent media grinding it out.
Great journalism takes time — a lot of time. If you want more of it, there’s really only one option: You’ve gotta support it. @jacksonwryan.com, who just published an eight-months-in-the-making report on a secretive gambling company, explains:
Just sent off an insane email that makes me look insane and yet I feel unburdened, free. It had at least 14 exclamation marks.
The bottom line is we don't need these stories. At all. You can see how the internet reacts ... Being on the internet. You're wasting the reporter's time. I get it if you're a struggling enthusiast website fighting for Google placement. If you're using my tax dollars for this, please stop.
Some post-script that didn't make this piece:
A whole heap of expired websites with high authority can be used to rank well on Search. Buy em up, get their authority. That happened to the dormant Australianaid website.
In 2023, it campaigned for aid.
In 2025, it began listing Best Online Casinos.
Depends on the vibe and party size but always enjoy Cho Cho San and Chaco Bar.
In May '25, a beloved Australian games website was sold off. It went dark then, a month later, rose from the dead but stuffed full of gambling links and AI authors.
It wasn't the first time, or the last time, this exact thing had happened. And it's still happening.
My months-long investigation 👇
Thanks for reading my friend 🙏
Thank you to the many, many voices who spoke to me for this piece. It's absolutely impossible to do this work without courageous people taking risks.
And please support independent media! Aftermath is great. Taking on big, investigative work like this is a lot of work for everybody involved.
This is in the piece! It's sad -- and it's not the only Dutch site.
In May '25, a beloved Australian games website was sold off. It went dark then, a month later, rose from the dead but stuffed full of gambling links and AI authors.
It wasn't the first time, or the last time, this exact thing had happened. And it's still happening.
My months-long investigation 👇
A great pickup! This is a line of investigation I went down but ultimately was met with silence. You can see the email addresses associated with AI author imagery by hovering over em at the "Our Team" page on Videogamer. I contacted them all. I did not get a response.
www.videogamer.com/our-team/
LinkedIn screenshot from Halfbrick three hours ago. Text reads Today we’re sharing that Halfbrick is making changes to our team structure, including role redundancies in Australia and the conclusion of a number of engagements internationally. This was not a decision we made lightly. Like many studios, we are navigating a challenging period for the games industry, and we’ve had to make some hard choices about how we move forward. These changes are driven by organizational and strategic priorities, not individual performance. The most important thing to say is this: the people affected by this decision have made meaningful contributions to Halfbrick. They have helped shape our games, supported our players, and been an important part of this studio. We are sincerely grateful for everything they have brought to the company. To everyone impacted, thank you. Your work has mattered here, and we are better for having had the chance to work with you. We also want to say clearly that we would strongly recommend any of these individuals to any team that is hiring. Halfbrick has always cared deeply about the people we bring in, and there is exceptional talent among those now looking for their next opportunity. Our focus right now is on handling this transition with care, respect, and genuine appreciation for the people who have contributed so much to Halfbrick. We wish them nothing but the best in what comes next.
Halfbrick announcing role redundancies in Australia during breakfast on a Saturday morning feels like a choice to me. My best to those impacted. If that's you and you want to chat, you can reach me securely here on dctrjr [at] proton [dot] me
(Now with alt text)
🧪Significant debate in science journalism right -- will the World Conference in Beijing be safe and independent? My quotes up top here are pointed, but this is a critical point in time for journalism and science. We must be clear-eyed about what this means.
www.science.org/content/arti...
