A powerful investigation into instability at the heart of video game development.

Press Reset is an in depth investigation into the instability of the modern video game industry, written by Jason Schreier, the bestselling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. The book examines how many of the most respected studios of the past decade collapsed, and what happened to the people who built them.

Drawing on extensive reporting and dozens of first hand interviews, Schreier explores the contrast between the industry’s financial success and the fragile reality faced by its workers. He follows the development of landmark games such as BioShock Infinite, Epic Mickey, and Dead Space, and traces the sudden shutdowns of the studios behind them. Through these stories, the book reveals how developers respond to layoffs and closures, whether by rebuilding their careers, leaving the industry, or struggling to stay afloat.

Schreier’s reporting uncovers hostile takeovers, abusive management, corporate chaos, unpaid wages, and ambitious failures, including the attempt by former baseball star Curt Schilling to build a studio capable of rivaling World of Warcraft. Along the way, Press Reset asks why it has become so difficult to build a stable career in an industry more profitable than ever, and whether meaningful change is still possible.

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