# George Osborn, strategist, author (Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence.)

Page: 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
Text version: 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
Podcast: [My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin](https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-perfect-console-with-simon-parkin-5970647)
Published: 2026-06-16T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/george-osborn-strategist-author-power-play-video-games-polit
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/63b458521043e00011114396/e/6a283e7f6642088a10c74f56/media.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5393

## Resource

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.

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