MIT Press is delighted to announce the publication of “Mainstreaming and Game Journalism” by David B. Nieborg & Maxwell Foxman in their Playful Thinking series. The book is available at bookstores and as an open access PDF: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5657/Mainstreaming-and-Game-Journa... Mainstreaming and Game Journalism addresses both the history and current practice of game journalism, along with the roles writers and industry play in conveying that the medium is a “mainstream” form of entertainment. Through interviews with reporters, the authors examine the bumpy process of what they think of as “mainstreaming,” which encompasses three overlapping factors. First, for games to become mainstream, they need to become more ubiquitous through broader media coverage. Second, an increase in ludic literacy, or how-to play games, determines whether that greater visibility translates into accessibility. Third, the mainstreaming of games must gain cultural legitimacy. The fact that games are more visible does little if only a few people take them seriously or deem them worthy of attention. Ultimately, Mainstreaming and Game Journalism provocatively questions whether games ever will—or even should—gain widespread cultural acceptance. Table of contents: 1 Introduction: “Shall I Explain the Game?” 2 Moving Away from the Mainstream 3 Passionate Experts 4 The Many Streams of Game Journalism 5 What It’s Actually About 6 Conclusion: Mainstream Is a Verb According to Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly this book is: “A must-read for journalism and game scholars… it masterfully presents the complex dynamics that form and establish journalistic genres and their impact and influence on journalists’ practices and sensemaking and vice versa.”