The Rage Game: Video Games and the Politics of Reaction

Video games aren't just a pastime; they have become a crucial battleground in modern culture wars. In 2014, a movement known as “GamerGate” took over the internet. Amplified by right-wing politicians and online talking heads, a group of gamers harassed, doxxed, and terrorized marginalized people in the industry.

Ten years later, veteran games journalist Alyssa Mercante broke a story debunking the anti-DEI conspiracy theories fueling a new wave of hate, and instantly became the primary target of GamerGate 2.0. In The Rage Game, she combines rigorous investigative reporting with firsthand experience at the center of the storm, uncovering how tech moguls, algorithmic rage bait, and far-right political forces co-opted gaming communities to push internet subcultures and mainstream politics further to the right.

Crucial and timely, this book is a powerful counter-narrative to those who seek to dominate digital spaces and act as cultural foot soldiers for a reactionary agenda.