Hello!
I am Marijam Didžgalvytė [mʌrɪja:m][dɪdʒgʌlvi:tɛ] (don’t worry, just Marijam Did is perfectly fine!), and I’m a Lithuanian-Tatar games industry critic dissecting the intersection between videogames and IRL politics.
My work has been published by the Guardian, VICE, GamesIndustry.biz, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and others. In the past I was a Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, and am currently a Senior Marketing Executive at a Bafta-winning videogames studio. I’m the author of “Everything To Play For: How Videogames Are Changing The World” published by Verso Books in 2024. The book has received multiple awards and translations and I’m very proud of it - you’re probably here because you’ve heard of the book!
In the past, I served as the Chair of Communications Committee for Game Workers Unite International - an organisation that assisted the global push for unionisation in the videogames industry; she also co-founded GWU UK - the first legal trade union that has come out of the movement. My expertise lies in researching historical materialism and Fine Art criticism and applying them to the developments in the gaming sphere.
Get in touch in case you think we could collaborate together in one way or another!
Out NOW with Verso Books.
Lithuanian Translation here, Spanish here, Traditional Chinese here, French here, 4 more languages in the making!
Re: Gamergate - Sexism and Racism ARE Class Issues
Grand Tax Evasion: why Rockstar Games should seek Redemption
Participant in Round Table on Nation(alism), Identity and Video Gaming
Interviewed by GI.biz about online abuse
Videogames & IRL Politics: The Decade's 5 Most Important Developments
Battle Against Fascism, Battle Against Misogyny = Battle Against Capitalism
Interviewed by Al Jazeera about Game Workers Unite
8 Reasons Why UK Gamers Should Vote Labour This Election
Videogames as Tools for Civil Disobedience
Speaker at Folkestone Book Festival
Appeared on BBC 4's Woman's Hour
Panel Guest on the State of the Videogames Industry for Interactive Denmark
Presentation for Spilbar - Interactive Denmark in Copenhagen
Political Games: How is GWU UK Game Jam Different?
On Labour Days' Podcast Covering Animators and Game Workers
Appearance on Combabe Clem's YouTube Channel
Labour Against Racism & Fascism Panel on Art & Politics
Exploring Art, Football & Politics at Tate Modern - panel
Talk on Games & Politics for Ministry of Culture of Lithuania