About Remastered
Welcome to Remastered, a new video game newsletter authored by me, Tomas Franzese. I have covered the video game industry for nearly 10 years. I got my start as a volunteer Staff Writer at DualShockers back when it was an independent website, eventually working my way up to become News Editor. While there, I gained a reputation of being a "gaming encyclopedia" of sorts, always interested in video game history and easily contextualizing any new release with the context of the video game industry's history.
After that, I helped Inverse establish its Gaming section as a Video Game News Writer before moving over to Digital Trends in 2022 as a Staff Writer. I felt I really thrived when I bolstered Digital Trends' Gaming coverage alongside Giovanni Colantonio. I've reviewed hundreds of games, interviewed dozens of game developers from across the industry and around the world, and authored a column called Save State for about half a year.
Sadly, the last year or so of my career has left me right in the middle of the issues plaguing journalism right now. I was laid off by Digital Trends in January 2025, and have been freelancing for publications like GameSpot since then. Valnet brought me on board to try and establish gaming coverage at Android Police and XDA, but let me go once its attention turned to segments it saw as more profitable in 2026.
Now, I'm finally launching my own newsletter as I get back into freelancing and near the end of my Master's Degree program at Old Dominion University. I want this to be a spiritual successor (or a retro revival) of sorts to my Save State column, which I still hold dear to this day. This will be a newsletter about games, old and new, that directly grapple with the ever-evolving nature of retro gaming or are connected to the rich history of the video game industry in some way.
Remastered will prioritize games from the past, but I don't want to do so under the lens of "everything was better in the good ol' days of gaming." I find that sentiment permeates a lot of nostalgia-and-retro-focused gaming content. The biggest strengths and weaknesses have evolved over time, and coverage of older games should reflect that.
Sure, the funding and monetization-packed design problems of today weren't hampering the video game industry 25 years ago, but back then, the mainstream game industry was primarily a publisher-monopolized space that was nearly impossible for indie developers to break into. Whether it's just a couple of years old or from decades ago, I'm interested in learning about the stories of developments that interweave throughout the history of video games as a medium.
I'm also interested in seeing how those developers, ideas, and nostalgia rear their heads today, whether that be through new games building on old ideas, old games finding new life, or projects tangential to the games themselves but interconnected with game history.
To start, I plan for Remastered to be a weekly newsletter that follows this itemized format:
Item one: A Feature - An editorial, review, or interview that connects to the newsletter's thesis. This could be a retrospective on a game, an interview with the developers, gamers, organizations, and journalists who keep the spirit of video game history alive, or ideas I haven't even come up with yet. Does any of that apply to you or clients you represent? Reach out to me at tomas.joseph.franzese@gmail.com!
Item two: News and Games I’m Playing Roundup - A round-up of the news goings-on of the week and the retro-related games I’ve been playing. I'll prioritize retro-angled stories, but will also cover current events that I think will be etched into the timeline of game history.
Item three: The Games We Played - A retrospective on the games that were most influential to us. I'll write about some of my favorite games for this segment, but my hope is that the people I interview for this can eventually share the games that are special to them as well.
Initially, this will be a free, weekly newsletter, although I will be linking a Ko-fi if you’d like to support my work. Depending on its success over time, I may eventually look for ways to monetize it. The release schedule is also subject to change with unexpected events, although I will do my best to always hit that deadline. I'll communicate any delays or changes in schedule on my Bluesky.
I look forward to your support as I kick off Remastered. I've never done anything like this before in my near-decade of work as a journalist, so I'm excited to see what the future holds. You can start by checking out my first newsletter, which covers the evolving definition of “retro” in 2026.
Anti-Generative AI Statement: I do not plan to use generative AI to write this newsletter. Currently, I am subscribed to Grammarly for copy-editing purposes, and that tool constantly suggests AI-generated content for me to use. I ignore any suggestions that aren't purely grammar-related. My subscription lapses in March, and I don't plan to renew due to the enshittification of Grammarly.
Special thanks to Myles McNutt and Francesco Franzese for their editing support on this newsletter.