The Video Game Library Newsletter - Vol. #024
Surprising announcements, long-awaited releases, and a bit of controversy! Plus 3 great Book Spotlights and a LOT of new cataloguing.
Welcome back to The Video Game Library Newsletter!
It’s been one of those weeks where I was reminded me why I love doing this. Lots of exciting announcements and releases, and even a bit of controversy to keep things spicy.
Also got a lot of positive feedback from last week’s Newsletter, so that was a great motivator! Thank you all for the kind words!
As a reminder, this Newsletter will now cover the two pillars you all said you love most:
📰 News & Highlights • 📚 Behind the Shelves
…with 💡 Book Spotlights at the end for those who’d like to dive deeper.
Alright, let’s talk about all the news this week!
📰 News & Highlights
A little excitement, a touch of drama, and maybe even a dash of controversy… This week had it all in the world of Video Game Literature! But I know, that no matter what you’re into, there’s at least one thing here you’ll want to check out.
Dark Horse Books continues to make weekly headlines with their latest video game-based release, Cyberpunk 2077 Psycho Squad. While the initial hype around the game has cooled, the expanded universe is absolutely thriving in comics and novels. This 100+ page graphic novel compiles all four issues from the miniseries, featuring the talents of Dan Watters, Kieran McKeown, Giada Marchisio, and Frank Cvetkovic.
And that’s not all from Dark Horse Books! Plants vs. Zombies: Zomnibus - Volume 3 just hit shelves, continuing a comic run that’s somehow been going strong for over a decade. This collection brings together Plants vs Zombies: Battle Extravagonzo, Plants vs Zombies: Lawn of Doom, and Plants vs Zombies: The Greatest Show Unearthed all into one jumbo volume.
From cab replicas to the silver screen, and now a 300+ page art book from Insight Editions, Mortal Kombat has been having a big year in the news. Unfortunately, this week’s release of Mortal Kombat: Flawless Victory - A Visual History of the Iconic Series is making headlines for the wrong reasons. While early reviewers have praised the content, there are some accusations of it using AI to upscale some of its images. Please consider doing some research ahead of dropping this one in your cart. Would recommend checking out The Artbook Collector’s review here.
On the brighter side, Insight Editions also launched the long-awaited Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook - Volume 2. Dishes in this volume include Alpine Breakfast, Tacos de Carne Asada, the Pudding of Perseverance & Prominence and many more.
Continuing with more releases from the folks over at Insight Editions, The Art and Making of Dune Awakening also hit store shelves today. Now admittedly, I thought this was a book about a TV/Movie, and was graciously reminded by the community that it is, in-fact, for a Dune game.
And finally (it’s not often a publisher gets 4 HEADLINES in a single newsletter), Insight Editions give us one more piece of news - Call of Duty Zombies: The Art of Treyarch has officially gone on pre-order. Over 250 pages celebrating 15 years of Call of Duty’s iconic Zombie mode.
Some Sonic comic books are also releasing this week. First off, from DC Comics, we have a fun cross-over with DC x Sonic The Hedgehog #1. Sonic’s world is under siege by Darkseid, so they recruit the help of The Justice League!
And second is Sonic the Hedgehog: Chaotix’s 30th Anniversary Special courtesy of IDW Publishing. I remember having the Archie issue of Knuckle’s Chaotix as a kid on my bedside table for what felt like years. Redrew the cover probably a hundred times. Not a completionist when it comes to comic collections, but I’ll definitely be picking this one up for nostalgia’s sake.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, composer Austin Wintory has announced he’ll be releasing Assassin’s Creed Syndicate - In Full Score, a sheet music book comprising the entire OST’s conductor scores! It includes several bonus tracks which were included in bonus editions of the OST. Very exciting for all the musically inclined out there!
Kickstarter Alert!! Starting next week, author Andrea Contato is launching not 1 but 2 book projects, starting with the English edition of Video Games: The People, Games, and Companies - Stage 3 (1985–1989) (originally only released in Italian) as well as Rebels, Pirates and Tentacles: The Story of LucasArts. Very excited for these!
And speaking of Italian books, 3 years after its English release, Minecraft: The Official Coloring Book has been published by Gigaciao. Coloring is language-agnostic but it’s always great to see these activity books get broader global publishing.
For all you German readers out there, a reminder on the recent release of The Game Is On: Wie Gaming Unsere Welt Revolutioniert. Austrian computer scientist Johanna Pirker demonstrates that video games are not only drivers of culture and innovation, but also have significant potential for politics, business, science, and society as a whole
And over in Japan, the Famicom Disk System Encyclopedia from Sansai Books is now on sale! 240 pages of full-color coverage on this classic Japanese console. I need to get my hands on this one!
Did I miss something cool? Want to see this laid out differently?
Drop it in the comments or swing by our Discord to share it with the community.
Let’s keep this celebration of game-inspired books going strong!
📚 Behind the Shelves
Every week, I take you behind the scenes of The Video Game Library. From surprising discoveries to cataloging challenges, there’s always something new as we dig deeper into this ever-expanding archive of game-related literature.
Still catching up after vacation (you all sent so many great additions!), which means I’ve been deep in multiple rabbit holes at once.
First priority was the Andrea Contato collection. With his new Kickstarter launching next week, I realized I was missing a few English translations, so those are now cleaned up, corrected, and officially up on the site. Andrea is actively building a long-form history series around games, and ensuring those entries are properly represented always feels important.
Next up, shoutout to Leslie, our newest volunteer (introduction to them in last week’s Newsletter), who started diving into the long-backlogged “Wordware Game Developer’s Library”. If you’re unfamiliar, Wordware published a ton of technical game dev books in the early-to-mid 2000s - everything from AI scripting to shader programming to design theory. Many are niche and out of print (read: a nightmare to track down all the details on). Having a second set of hands on this has been a game changer.
Also noticed a sudden spike in searches for “Gamergate.” Not entirely sure what triggered it, maybe a recent headline or discourse bubble, but rather than let people wade blindly through unrelated content, I decided to carve out a dedicated tag so readers can quickly find books that address the topic directly, academically, or historically.
This, as usual, is only a small sample of all the things that have been happening behind the scenes, so take a peek at the site to see everything that’s been added since last week! And while you’re at it, drop your thoughts in the comments below. Your feedback helps shape how we deliver these looks behind the curtain.
💡 Book Spotlights
Every week I like to zoom in on a few standout books from the collection. Sometimes it’s brand new releases, other times it’s older gems that deserve more love.
If you’re looking for deeper dives and not just quick headlines, check out some of these spotlights.
BOOK SPOTLIGHT - The Germanic Heroic Tradition in Video Games: Playing Mass Medievalism
Enrique Torres-Hergueta (2025); Palgrave Macmillan; Game Studies
"...a sharp, easy-to-read, and genuinely meaningful work of cultural analysis that reframes video games as the latest evolution of myth."
BOOK SPOTLIGHT - African American Males and Video Games
Kenneth Jones (2025); Myers Education Press; Game Studies
"If I were to summarize this book in a single word, it would be “urgency”. An eye-opening, and deeply human, examination that transcends academic study. It’s a warning. A proposal. And a call to action."
BOOK SPOTLIGHT - Designing Virtual Worlds: Volume 1
Richard A. Bartle (2025); CRC Press; Game Development
“Absolute monster of a book, but brilliant”
*The following spotlight was kindly submitted by Video Game Library volunteer James Crosby.
🙏 THANK YOU for Reading
That’s a wrap for this week’s Newsletter. I hope you discovered something new, surprising, or just plain fun.
As always, your feedback helps shape this project - so don’t be shy! Drop a comment below, join the conversation on Discord, or just reply to this newsletter and share your thoughts.
And if you’re enjoying these weekly roundups, please consider supporting The Video Game Library with a paid subscription or forwarding this to a fellow fan. Every little bit helps us keep preserving and celebrating these incredible works - and the passionate people behind them.
Until next week — happy reading,
Dean (Founder, The Video Game Library)