Jason Schreier

And one of the things I did was in 2015, towards the end of the year, I published a story about the making of Destiny 1 and why that game's story was such a debacle and all the rewrites and last minute changes and all the drama behind the scenes there. And after I published that, what happened was... a guy named Charlie reached out and he, I had talked to him before. He's a literary agent.

I had known him in the past and he was like, hey, what if you do a book that is like stories like this? And I was like, oh, okay, that could be interesting. And then from there, he and I started putting together a pitch and a proposal and all the other kind of hoops you have to jump through to get a book signed.

I had known him in the past and he was like, hey, what if you do a book that is like stories like this? And I was like, oh, okay, that could be interesting. And then from there, he and I started putting together a pitch and a proposal and all the other kind of hoops you have to jump through to get a book signed.

And then by, I think, four or five, six months after that, I don't remember exactly, I had signed a deal with HarperCollins to write that book. And I did it on the side while I was working at Kotaku throughout. 2016 and into 2017.

And then by, I think, four or five, six months after that, I don't remember exactly, I had signed a deal with HarperCollins to write that book. And I did it on the side while I was working at Kotaku throughout. 2016 and into 2017.

Well, it depends, right? There's the front door and the back door. The front door is whenever I reach out to PR folks and I say, hey, you got a game coming out. Can I talk to the director of that game? Or can I talk to the studio head or whatever? And I'm sure they're a little bit cautious, um, in ways that maybe they wouldn't be if my reputation wasn't what it was.

Well, it depends, right? There's the front door and the back door. The front door is whenever I reach out to PR folks and I say, hey, you got a game coming out. Can I talk to the director of that game? Or can I talk to the studio head or whatever? And I'm sure they're a little bit cautious, um, in ways that maybe they wouldn't be if my reputation wasn't what it was.

But I also think they recognize the benefit in having me talk to some of these people because they know that I have a platform and I can reach a fair number of readers with those interviews. So I think there's benefit for them for participating in that sort of thing.

But I also think they recognize the benefit in having me talk to some of these people because they know that I have a platform and I can reach a fair number of readers with those interviews. So I think there's benefit for them for participating in that sort of thing.

But yes, definitely some hesitance, some kind of caution from the PR folks and the people whose job it is to control the message of their companies.

But yes, definitely some hesitance, some kind of caution from the PR folks and the people whose job it is to control the message of their companies.

Whereas the backdoor, if I'm reaching out to developers privately on background and saying, hey, I want to talk to you, maybe you can be anonymous for this story because you would get in trouble if you were caught talking to me, that I think people are more inclined to talk to me because of my body of work because they have seen what I've done before and they know that I have a reputation that I won't burn sources, that I work really hard to protect people.

Whereas the backdoor, if I'm reaching out to developers privately on background and saying, hey, I want to talk to you, maybe you can be anonymous for this story because you would get in trouble if you were caught talking to me, that I think people are more inclined to talk to me because of my body of work because they have seen what I've done before and they know that I have a reputation that I won't burn sources, that I work really hard to protect people.

who spoke to, who speak to me, who, and make sure that they can stay anonymous. And I've got a lot of experience doing that. So in that sense, it helps.

who spoke to, who speak to me, who, and make sure that they can stay anonymous. And I've got a lot of experience doing that. So in that sense, it helps.

It's very funny to hear you say that because literally two days ago, I actually just sent an email to my editor with a list of corrections that I have to make for future printings of the book. And it's all pretty minor stuff. One of it is like the timing of when Blizzard moved to the Irvine campus. Another one is the year that the NES came out.

It's very funny to hear you say that because literally two days ago, I actually just sent an email to my editor with a list of corrections that I have to make for future printings of the book. And it's all pretty minor stuff. One of it is like the timing of when Blizzard moved to the Irvine campus. Another one is the year that the NES came out.

And a couple other just kind of like small things that I needed to fix for future editions. But like, that's what I harp on is like, Because as a reporter, you're trying to get as close to 100% accurate as possible, and you know that's always going to be difficult, if not impossible, with a 300-page book.

And a couple other just kind of like small things that I needed to fix for future editions. But like, that's what I harp on is like, Because as a reporter, you're trying to get as close to 100% accurate as possible, and you know that's always going to be difficult, if not impossible, with a 300-page book.

But still, I was really hoping to hit 100% accuracy, but I had to begrudgingly make some fixes. But yes, I'm very glad to hear that people at Blizzard felt like the important stuff was correct. And that's really what matters the most, as much as I might just kind of like grimace knowing that there are a few minor things that people are reading that are incorrect out there.