Somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep

As someone who has spent over a quarter of a century covering the videogame industry - as press for a decade on the outside, and now well over a decade leading communications teams from the inside - the past few years have been an utter bloodbath. Tens of thousands of jobs lost, countless brilliant (and not so brilliant) studios shut or games cancelled. It sucks, but This is Not News and I'm not here to write overlong on it beyond top give a grounding why I'm doing this vs say, looking for a job asap.

So when the surprise-you-no-longer-have-a-job bell most recently tolled in September, it tolled for me. While I've always confidently moved from one gig to another, I know this time around is likely not going to be easy.

So: instead of acceding to despair, I braced myself and immediately swung into action.

- day one: registered a LLC to cover the consultation aspect of my survival strategy; updated resume and LinkedIn
- day two: built a site draft for the above LLC, , applied for a few jobs and even wrote cover letters
- day three: started talking or at least floating the notion of working with some trusted peeps, starting the process of selling our home while figuring out the "burn rate" of whatever severance I received combined with Shy Beavis' (my partner) contractor income.

The likelihood of securing remote fulltime work in a comms leadership role - even with my resume (which I think is pretty good), even with my track record (which also is pretty good) - is unlikely this side of the year. Thanksgiving in late November for much of the bigger players in the industry signals the unofficial end of big decisions around spends on hires or new vendors. So while I might get lucky and be in the mix for a cool spot - along with dozens of others no doubt - most orgs aren't really going to rush to pull the trigger just in time for the end of year.

Nevertheless, I felt like I had a plan for once. Hit the consultancy side hard, build up a rep as a consistent contributor to some of the bigger outfits needing a hand, live lean, build a buffer. Apply for jobs. Don't wallow and definitely do not write a newsletter.

So welcome to my newsletter. The essence will be to share learnings built from a lifetime playing, covering, supporting the videogames industry. I jumped on the name "halcyon" because I at least hope to convey the uplifting and inspirational alongside being constructively critical. Halcyon doesn't have to mean nostalgia, of a golden era long passed - it can also be a signifier of what we hope to accomplish in the future. I choose to always be in that camp - the ones who pursue a better tomorrow and a golden age informed by - vs dwelling in - the past.

No, that's not code for "I just applied to be Head of Communications at Anthropic" - that's more me wanting to find ways to add value for talented, creative human beings who make entertainment. And when I consider what I would do if I could choose - like many it would be to write. And get paid, but for now I'm paying myself.

In my defense, I've got a pretty solid background in doing that - but me ditching my well paying games editorial job in Sydney almost 20 years ago to move to LA to work as a correspondent is a story for next time. Needless to say - writing was what saved me from a life of corporate drudgery, and instead allowed me to enjoy a fantastic career so far in the entertainment medium that I grew up alongside. I'd feel stupid and or bad if I didn't try at least once to make a viable shot at doing it again until the next big thing emerges - or if it doesn't, until the wheels fall off.

As to why you might want to - the stakeholder manager in me is never far away, and whispers the following: you might be:

- a fellow industry colleague seeking catharsis/connection
- a prospective industry entrant seeking insight or How It's Actually Done
- an industry leader trying to grok if they're being bsed by LinkedIn or their counsel
- a fellow hedonist who dares read for pleasure ('pleasure' doing a lot of heavy lifting here)
- like-minded souls who feel we're living through the end of one golden era - and if we all can just survive the next few years - on the verge of an even more profound one

One of my key learnings and counsel has always been not to wallow and make it about oneself vs being aware of the world moving around us. My hope is for the driven, I can help save time in getting where they want to be, and for the more introspective, I can help remind you of all that has brought us together vs what keeps us apart.

cheers,
jk