Achievement Unlocked! Jason Schreier has once again delivered on pulling back the curtain to reveal a side of the video game industry that few fans truly understand; the long hours and volatility that some developers go through to create the games we know and love (and many games that we never have the chance to even play). While Schreier’s first book, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, focused on the difficulties of game development, Press Reset peels back yet another layer to show us how these difficulties affect the individual lives of the people who make up these various studios. From stressful deadlines to layoffs to full studio closures, Schreier’s Press Reset becomes the perfect tour guide to walk readers through a sampling of the experiences that developers have faced and continue to face throughout the industry today.

Press Reset does a marvelous job of diving deep into the inner workings of a number of studios from major publishers to indie developers, placing the readers into the shoes of the people involved. Some saw telltale signs that things could be going south, while others were completely blindsided by layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures. From chapter to chapter, Press Reset examines how these decisions are made and why, in many situations, the majority of people that make up a studio aren’t notified of the changes to come until it’s too late.

Throughout the book we learn of the challenges of working for larger publishers who have to meet strict deadlines and the demands of their investors to small independent studios who struggle to find funding to begin with, yet in both situations it is the individual people involved who are affected the most. While a number of stories throughout the book lead to treatment of employees that is tough to stomach at times, many also offer signs of hope through employees who were able to move on to other projects and find more stability in an industry full of so little.

Schreier provides a level of detailed history from the overarching events down to the individual people involved in a way that few history books are able to accomplish today. One story is woven into the next via common threads of designers making their way through the industry or in many cases the similarity of game ideals being inspired by one developer to another. Interviews are masterfully intertwined in a way that make the reader become immersed in the scenes being described on the pages in front of them.The games we cherish today are a passion project of many individuals brought together over a common enthusiasm to design games, but who are impacted in different ways from the volatility of the industry and the publishers, studios, and bosses they work for.

If you are a gamer, aspiring developer, or just want to learn more about the gaming industry as a whole, Press Reset is certainly worth your time. This book will open your eyes to the sacrifices made by many to create games that we love, as well as serve as a warning to some looking to enter into the developer side of the industry. While the video game industry undoubtedly has its volatility, Press Reset shows us glimmers of hope in the strength of networking as a way to overcome some of the costs that gamemakers face today.

Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry is available for preorders here and is set to release publicly on Tuesday, May 11th.