Brian Crecente (born July 28, 1970) is an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...
'', previously served as video games editor at ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
,'' and was in charge of game coverage at ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''.
Career
He began his career as a journalist with the ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
In May 1905, Amon G. Carter ...
'' in 1997, where he covered crime and public safety for daily newspapers in Texas, Florida and Colorado for 12 years. He starting his career as a
video game journalist
Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...
as the founding editor-in-chief of '' Kotaku'', launched in 2004. In 2009, he wrote Good Game, a weekly column internationally syndicated by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Crecente was the founding editor and executive editor for ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...
'', launched in 2012.
In July 2017, Crecente announced on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that he would be leaving ''Polygon'' for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s gaming website Glixel. He was brought on at ''Variety'' on April 9, 2018, to expand the entertainment publication's coverage into video gaming with a new vertical that the co-editors say "represents another step forward in our effort to offer great journalism regarding every aspect of the modern media landscape." At the time he was still contributing to ''Rolling Stone''s game coverage. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
's'' gaming vertical, Glixel, was shut down later in 2018.
Crecente was laid off from Variety in June 2019, and the gaming section was removed from the Variety masthead. In 2020, Crecente helped launch an official LEGO Games podcast for the LEGO Group entitled ''Bits N' Bricks'' to help celebrate the 25-year history of the first LEGO video game. He co-hosts the weekly show which is hosted on LEGO.com. In 2021, Crecente helped launch an official Level Infinite podcast for Tencent Games entitled ''This is Level Infinite''. It explores the creation of the company's games. He co-hosts the weekly show which is hosted on LevelInfinite.com.
Recognition
In 2018, Crecente received a special recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists for his series on game culture in Cuba. He was also awarded first place for Excellence in eSports Writing that same year by the SPJ for his story on the esports champions of Cuba. Crecente was named one of the 20 most influential people in the video game industry over the past 20 years by GamePro in 2009 and one of gaming's Top 50 journalists by Edge in 2006. He was featured in a ''
5280
''5280'' is an American monthly magazine focused on Denver, Colorado and published by 5280 Publishing, Inc.
Personal life
Brian Crecente is married and has a son, Tristan. He is the uncle of Jennifer Ann Crecente, who was murdered in 2006. He was one of the judges on the "Life. Love. Game Design Challenge", a competition designed "to challenge video game designers and developers to create video games about teen dating violence" sponsored by Jennifer Ann's Group, a memorial charity for Jennifer. Crecente attended the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
.
Works
* ''Good Game, Well Played'' (collection of his Kotaku and Polygon columns)''''