On this week’s episode, Nathan, Gita, and Chris bathe in the afterglow of Aftermath’s first-ever in-person party before hinting at big changes to come (the good kind) as a result of the site’s upcoming second anniversary. Then we discuss the United States government’s sudden gaming fixation, following a week of Halo memes from White House and Department Of Homeland Security accounts, as well as JD Vance’s embarrassing reveal that he not only stays abreast of Twitch drama but is fluent in CollarGate, a widespread nontroversy about Hasan Piker turning out to be a secret dog torturer. After that, we move on to Amazon’s devastating layoff of 14,000 people, including many of those working on New World, a once-popular MMO that’s now being wound down. As it turns out, like many others, Amazon tried to take on Steam, and also like many others, it failed miserably. Finally, in honor of the surprise 3.0 update, we share our Animal Crossing: New Horizon opinions (Nintendo was too inspired by cozy games, a genre it basically invented with… Animal Crossing.) Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & Chris Person - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath! About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.