3 Gaming Newsletters Worth Reading in August 2026
by Tobi ·
With this series I want to read many new newsletters and share the ones I actually enjoy and keep reading. Last month was Wall Street humor, AI news and habits. This month is all about gaming: insider reporting, a data deep dive and the business behind the games you play.
Game File
By Stephen Totilo · gamefile.news
If you only subscribe to one gaming newsletter, make it this one.
Stephen Totilo has covered video games for over 20 years, first at MTV News, then as editor-in-chief of Kotaku, then at Axios. In 2024 he went independent and launched Game File. And it shows. Almost every edition is built on original reporting: developer interviews, scoops about studio closures, exclusive numbers, reviews. No rewritten press releases, no aggregation of other people's work.
He covers the big stories too, from console launches to industry layoffs, but always with his own sources and his own angle. The free tier gets you one newsletter a week, paid subscribers get three.
Who it's for: Anyone who wants real gaming journalism instead of recycled headlines.
GameDiscoverCo
By Simon Carless · gamediscover.co
The nerdiest pick this month, and honestly the one I learn the most from as a founder.
Simon Carless spent decades in the games industry, including running the Game Developers Conference and chairing the Independent Games Festival. His newsletter answers one question: how do people actually find and buy games? Expect Steam data, wishlist analysis, breakdowns of why one indie game explodes while a hundred similar ones disappear.
Recent editions looked at what one million instant wishlists say about discovery and how a game sold 15x its launch week sales a full year later. It's written for developers, but if you're curious how the games you play become hits, this is the place.
Who it's for: Game devs, indie fans and anyone who likes numbers behind the magic.
Naavik Digest
By the Naavik team · naavik.co
Where GameDiscoverCo goes deep on Steam, Naavik zooms out to the whole industry.
Naavik is a gaming research and consulting firm, and their weekly Digest reads like getting a strategy briefing from people who advise studios and investors for a living. They deconstruct business models, analyze acquisitions and explain why companies make the moves they make. Mobile, console, PC, everything.
A recent edition broke down the memo that undid ten years of Xbox strategy. Others covered China's gaming giants pivoting to lifestyle sims and the state of the FPS market. It's dense, but never dry, and it made me understand the industry in a way that pure news never did.
Who it's for: Anyone who wants to understand gaming as a business, not just a hobby.
That's it for August. If you know a gaming newsletter I should check out, hit reply on any Polyletter email. I read everything.
