Episode
George Osborn, strategist, author (Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence.)
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5393
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-polit
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647/episodes/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-politics-and-the-battle-for-global-influence.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
George Osborn is a journalist, strategist, and analyst whose work explores the increasingly fraught intersection of video games, business, and politics. He has worked as a reporter, consultant, and as Head of Campaigns and Communications at Ukie , the UK trade body for games, developing a rare vantage point on how the medium shapes, and is shaped by, power. He is also the founder of Half-Space Consulting and the editor of the Video Games Industry Memo newsletter, where he examines the forces driving the modern games business. In his new book, Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence , he argues that games have become far more than entertainment: they are now digital third places, contested spaces in which authoritarian regimes, populists, and extremists seek to wield influence. LINKS: George Osborn: The book: Power Play – buy via Bookshop.org UK (supports independent booksellers) Power Play – Waterstones Power Play – Bookshop.org US The newsletter: Video Games Industry Memo – George's newsletter (free to subscribe) The Games: GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, 2000) Championship Manager 01/02 Mass Effect 2 Balatro Also mentioned Bellingcat – investigative journalism outlet founded by Eliot Higgins Support My Perfect Console on Patreon Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.