“But She’s Got a New Hat!”
This column is a reprint from Unwinnable Monthly #193. If you like what you see, grab the magazine for less than ten dollars, or subscribe and get all future magazines for half price.
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Here’s the Thing is where Rob dumps his random thoughts and strong opinions on all manner of nerdy subjects – from videogames and movies to board games and toys.
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Videogame discourse, in a broad sense, has been a fucking mess for pretty much as long as videogames have existed. It’s gotten worse as the industry gets more and more comfortable with venture capitalism style business models, to be sure, but this isn’t new. But here’s the thing: New or old, I’m just so goddamn sick of seeing people, websites and general public sentiment regularly ping-pong between rightfully condemning a company for atrocious practices, then talking about that same company’s newest announcement. Sometimes within the same week.
I’m not trying to force my own morality onto other people here – I’ve long since come to accept the fact that some folks are going to be less extreme, or more extreme, when it comes to what they consider a bridge too far – but when I see the same source (person, website, etc.) flip-flopping on something like this I can’t help but get kind of… mad, I guess? It’s like a combination of frustration that they seem incapable or uninterested in sticking to their own established ethos, and “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”
From the attention that continues to be doled upon Cyberpunk 2077 (don’t get me started on CD Projekt Red) to the seemingly collective amnesia around Ubisoft’s sexual misconduct problems, it’s like an ongoing frustration parade. It never, ever stops.
Most recently, as of writing (because I’m sure more examples will manifest between now and publication), it’s the largely uncritical buzz surrounding the announcement of a remaster (remake?) of the original Halo. Sure, the buzz hasn’t been entirely positive, but “this is a bad idea” or “it looks bad” is still surface level engagement with a Microsoft property. And Microsoft has been a big part of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) boycott list for companies ever since April 2025.
Obviously, I don’t expect everyone to know everything that’s going on in videogames all the time, but this has been an ongoing thing for over six months at this point; has been and continues to be acknowledged in several corners of the industry; has had boycott participation steps discussed multiple times and has still been largely ignored. I’m finding it more and more difficult to come up with any plausible excuses as to why so many people keep turning a blind eye to this.
I don’t expect a total media blackout on certain companies or anything like that (though I can dream), but for fuck’s sake at least acknowledge Microsoft’s complicity in the still ongoing Palestinian genocide when you bring it or any of its subsidiaries up. And I don’t feel unreasonable in saying that, to uncritically talk about these companies or their games on a professional level while also knowing about the BDS boycott, is morally dubious at best. Morally bankrupt at worst.
The collective We need to cut this shit out. Full stop.
If you (person or website) don’t care about things like employee mistreatment, transphobia or Palestinian genocide, well, I’m still gonna judge you but that’s your prerogative. But don’t – don’t – turn around and openly decry these same issues. It’s one or the other, not both. Pick a lane. Though at this point it seems clear to me that you already have.
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Rob Rich is a guy who’s loved nerdy stuff since the 80s, from videogames to Anime to Godzilla to Power Rangers toys to Transformers, and has had the good fortune of being able to write about them all. He’s also editor for the Games section of Exploits! You can still find him on Bluesky and Mastodon.
