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!
For Jacobin: “Videogames Are a Key Battleground in the Propaganda War”
Wholesome Games, Escapism, and the Reproduction of the Status Quo
Political Games: How is GWU UK Game Jam Different?
Practice referenced in Dr Jamie Woodcock's book 'Marx At The Arcade'
Lithuanian Teachers’ Ministry Occupation Enters Second Week
The Dark, Ironic, Surreal Games of Central and Eastern Europe
Analog Fanzine Issue 5
Thumbs Down: How The Video Games Industry Is Battling Brexit
Labour Rights in Esports
Luxury Housing for All – Because Nothing Is Too Good for the Working Class
Esports *Could* Be Sexy, So What’s Going On?
'Corbyn Run' Highlights the Stakes of This Week's British Election
Why It Sucks That Esports Are Coming To The Olympics
Inside the UK Fighting Games Community: Arcades, Grime and Classless Meritocracy
9 Times Video Games Were Great for Mental Health
Not A Game: Industry Labour Practices May Be Headed For a Big Change
#Gamergate, Class and The White House
Classless Meritocracy: A Love Letter to UK Fighting Games Community
Women in Games Need to Talk about Class