Will Jagielski-Harrison
Verified
(He/Him)
- Contributor, Freelance
- Host, Essence of Azeroth - A World of Warcraft Lore Podcast
- Content Editor, Esports.gg
Cleveland
As seen in:
Esports.gg,
Essence of Azeroth - A World of Warcraft Lore Podcast,
Polygon,
Thrillist,
Austin American-Statesman,
The Escapist,
PlayStation LifeStyle,
The Toledo Blade,
TheGamer,
The Game Haus,
Americana Highways
Covers:
Gaming, technology, professional wrestling, internet trends, pop culture, food, religion, music, film, technology
Doesn't Cover:
Babies. Oh, and logging. Can't forget that.
I'm outta here. Bsky name on profile avatar.
Articles by Will Jagielski-Harrison
Will Jagielski-Harrison
Street Fighter 6 EVO Standout Betty Is The Blueprint For All Fighting Game Content Creators Stop Announcing Spider-Man Movies And Release One Already Sorry: I'll never pay $80 for a video game Blizzard: Stop Messing Around And Do An Evangelion Overwatch 2 Collaboration The Genshin Impact End of Service Should Mean Something Donkey Kong Bananza Is Bad For My Completionist ADHD Brain The Fantastic Four Movie Game Reminds Me Of Past Licensed Game Sins Can A Hellraiser Single-Player Game Be...
Betty Takes on FGC Legends at EVO 2025: The Rise of a New Star
Betty, a standout in the FGC, fearlessly challenged legends like Justin Wong at EVO 2025. Her unique blend of marketable image and solid gameplay sets her apart in a male-dominated space. Do not jump against Betty. Just... Don't. More important was the fact she wasn’t afraid to go after established fighting game legends. Not only that, she was competing. The smoke from EVO 2025 has begun to clear, and with it comes a number of stories bound to hype up any fighting game fan.
Spider-Man Movie Overload: Marvel's Hype Cycle Spins Out of Control
Marvel's Spider-Man movie projects are stuck in a cycle of hype, with announcements overshadowing actual releases. The Spider-Verse concept, successful in comics and films, has led to an influx of Spider-Man projects, causing oversaturation. JUST LET DAREDEVIL AND SPIDEY HANG OUT ALREADY, JEEZE. I love Spider-Man. He was the first superhero I saw as a kid that made me feel like doing the right thing and being a good person was cool.
Why I Refuse to Pay $80 for Video Games
Video game prices are rising, causing concern among consumers about the value they receive for their money. The industry has moved towards free-to-play and live-service titles, impacting traditional AAA experiences. I have plenty of games in my Steam backlog to play, thank you. There’s a running joke from the classic sitcom 30 Rock that my wife and I love to reference and feels apt this week when thinking about The Outer Worlds 2.
Overwatch 2 Needs an Evangelion Collaboration: A Perfect Match
Blizzard should collaborate with Neon Genesis Evangelion for Overwatch 2 skins. Evangelion has a strong cultural impact and gaming appeal for authentic collaborations. End of Evangelion is good, actually. Developers and publishers want to know what their audiences want. That’s nothing new. Blizzard Entertainment, especially, has gotten good (mostly) at picking collaboration winners. When it comes to my live-service game of choice, Overwatch 2’s hits far outweigh the misses.
Genshin Impact's PS4 Demise: A Harbinger of Gaming's Fragile Future?
Games like Genshin Impact on PS4 disappearing is becoming the norm due to technological progress. The removal of games (Genshin) impacts players who may not be able to upgrade to newer platforms. Oh God, World of Warcraft will go offline one day, won't it? Then there’s Genshin Impact on PS4, which Hoyoverse announced will hit ‘end of service’ in April 2026. Players have until then to bind their account and find a new platform. Some people will look at this news, shrug, and move on. No big, right?
Donkey Kong Bananza Triggers My Completionist Addiction
When given the chance to punch, I will punch non-stop. My brain seeks these types of "color in the picture" experiences. Oh, Banana. Oh, no. This is bad news. My first thoughts upon booting up Donkey Kong Bananza for the first time at a friend’s house this week were not ones of joy. I mean, they were. That was the problem, though. The first thing that Nintendo’s new standout platformer adventure does is a trick built to trap my brain.
The Fantastic Four Movie game that came with a free movie ticket... but at what cost?
Licensed shovelware slop of IP-driven video games vanished due to mobile gaming swallowing the market. The 2005 Fantastic Four movie game was a bad overhead beat-em-up with myriad issues. A Black Panther 2 movie game was stolen from us. STOLEN. Of course, largely soulless video game adaptations of movies and TV shows never fully went away. The advent of mobile gaming – and the larger budgets that went along with it – swallowed the licensed game market.
Hellraiser: Revival - Can It Live Up to the Horror Legacy?
Pinhead is an icon, but is he a good video game character? "Hellraiser: Revival" is a single-player risk with a potential huge reward. Video game nudity is always going to be weird. The biggest vote of horror confidence might be that Pinhead is also a playable villain in Dead by Daylight. That’s mostly impressive company--AMC's The Walking Dead is the latest addition to the game.
Umamusume On Steam Is The Only Way To Play
Mobile games lack constant info, but PC versions offer options. The Vertical layout in Umamusume on Steam is informative and engaging. We have horse girls at home, on the PC. We live in a data-driven, Umamusume: Pretty Derby world, and I’m always going to gravitate towards what gives me the most information. It’s why I have three monitors on my computer desktop. Part of that is because I’m a visual learner, but also because I just like to be prepared.
Hulk Hogan's Controversial Legacy: WWE 2K26 Edition Inevitable?
Hulk Hogan's legacy is complex, to say the least. WWE may honor Hogan posthumously with a Showcase Mode in WWE 2K26. Real American Theme > American Made Theme Hulk Hogan was an undisputed icon of the 1980s, for better and for worse. In the decade when image trumped everything else, stood this living, breathing WWE superhero. A conqueror of nations. The guy who played Thunderlips in Rocky 3. The personification of the American Dream, both in strength and in excess.
Interview: Ghosts Of K'aresh Wants You To Discover The Beginning of the End In WoW
The Final patch of The War Within expansion takes WoW players off Azeroth to explore K'aresh. Ghosts of K'aresh update offers a departure from deep-diving storytelling, setting up future plotlines. Patch 11.2 adds new dungeon, Echo Dome Al'dani, breaking the traditional raid-end order with an epilogue experience. You need to pay attention when World of Warcraft takes its players off Azeroth for the final patch of an expansion.
Anime Horse Girls: Wholesome Fun or Creepy Obsession?
Umamusume: Pretty Derby appeals to gamers with its wholesome equine youths chasing dreams... And others. There's a fine line between loving a character and "loving" a character. SILENCE SUZUKA FOR LIFE. Is nothing sacred in our modern world? Not even anime horse girls? Taking over the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere over the past month, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is pretty dang wholesome.
I Miss Playing Animal Crossing During The COVID Lockdown
COVID led to a surge in gaming, providing a sense of routine and connection during a bad time. The lockdown moment was ephemeral in nature. I hate you, Zipper. I still remember what I was doing the exact moment I knew COVID-19 wasn’t going away. It was March 2020 and the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons was literally on the horizon. But that felt like a distant future as I sat in the living room with my wife, waiting for AEW wrestling to come on.
Guitar Hero Live Deserved Better Than Being A Joke In A Trash Can
Guitar Hero Live introduced radical changes, like a new controller and live video performances. GHTV in Guitar Hero Live was cool and built for parties with loud, indecisive drunks. MY SONGS KNOW WHAT YOU DID IN THE DA-AH-AAAAARK. The Guitar Hero series died an undignified death, didn’t it? Once the game that brought plastic instruments to the United States in earnest, the Guitar Hero brand lost some of its power almost immediately upon the release of Rock Band.
Politics, Industry Woes To Blame For EVO 2025 Entrant Number Plummet?
EVO entrance numbers dropped significantly: down by 20-50% for major games. International FGC is affected by US travel restrictions, potential risks. Industry layoffs lead to game marketing budget cuts, impacting esports growth. I wasn’t the only one that saw absolute magic in the 2009 reboot, now considered by many as one of the best fighting games of all time.
Razer's Lackluster US Pokémon Collab Sure Is Lame Compared To China's
The United States Razer x Pokemon collab lacks excitement and creativity. Razer's international Pokemon releases, like China's Gengar, are more appealing. YOU ARE NOW IN THE BIDOOF ZONE. I don’t ask for much when it comes to licensed merchandise collaborations. Whether it's adding cool character skins to Overwatch 2 or putting Pocket Monsters on everyday household goods, I just need some basic effort to put in. And when it comes to Pokémon especially, I am ready for any and all offerings.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 Isn't The Same Without Its Original Soundtrack
Only 10 tracks from the original games are in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 remake. Tony Hawk personally chose new songs for the game's soundtrack... Or so he says. THE ACE OF SPADES, THE ACE OF SPAAAAAAADES. I told my best friend Luke as we left school that I’d stop by Walmart before coming over. The clerk, who I knew fairly well, said he’d hold a copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 until I could come in.
Marvel Mystic Mayhem
One of the changes in the games industry that I’ve come to accept over the last decade is the move to mobile. It used to be that consoles were where licensed games lived. This was never more true than when a flood of Marvel -licensed crap arrived on consoles every couple of months. However, times change, budgets change, and the place where gamers are at along with it. In another era, Marvel Mystic Mayhem and its ilk would be console titles.
Casual Players Are Obviously Ruining MY Competitive Play In Overwatch 2
There is a time and place for everything. And guess what, dorks: the time and place to try new characters and avoid roles you aren’t willing to fill isn’t in my Overwatch 2 Competitive Mode lobby. If you’ve played any first-person shooter in the last ten years, then you know there tends to be two speeds involved in Competitive. Related Go (Away) G.I. Joe: Overwatch 2 Collabs Are Starting To Feel Phoned In There’s casual play. Laid back, relaxed, and a space to experiment and try new things.
Stormwind Needs To Get Got, So Let Lord Dimensius Stomp It, Blizzard
I hate the Alliance. Why? Because they’ve always been the favored faction in World of Warcraft. So when it came to my attention that the upcoming final raid boss of the current retail expansion, The War Within, showcases the Void Lord, Dimensius – now the size of a kaiju and stomping over Stormwind – I got excited. Excited in a way that I haven’t since the expansion’s release a year ago. Why? Myriad reasons.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
I was laid off from my previous job two weeks before Christmas last year. Someone returned from maternity leave and someone else had to go. That person was me. premium subscribers only Subscribe to TheGamer Premium for an ad-free experience, access to exclusive stories, and more! Already have an account? Sign in
Summer Games Done Quick Goes All In With Wild AEW: Fight Forever Speedrun
It’s hard to measure the impact Games Done Quick has had throughout its 15 years of existence. The idea of streaming video games for an entire week was once a novel concept, and continues to evolve before our very eyes to this day. But in its own unique way, the biannual event has changed the expectations and tropes of what a livestreaming video game event can and should be.
Go (Away) Joe: Why the G.I. Joe x Overwatch 2 Collab Misses The Mark
Overwatch 2 G.I. Joe collab lacks unique content, lazy reskins are overpriced, and it need more effort Reusing assets for pricey skins disappoint fans; expectation for premium quality not met MORE BEEPS AND BOOPS Here’s the deal: I play a lot of Overwatch 2. My gaming group plays daily, I have every battle pass completed since the game’s relaunch in 2023, and I spend a lot of money on skins. Why? It makes me happy and I have poor impulse control, shut up.
Horror Story: I Downloaded A Gundam Game And Now I Care About Gunpla
Gundam games provide an engaging history lesson on the franchise, perfect for new fans SD Gundam G Generation Eternal showcases the complexities of alternate timelines and deep lore Saikoro Gundam is dumb as heck. And super cool. I’ve never considered myself to be a ‘giant robots’ kind of guy. Sure, I had some Transformers as a kid. But when it came to anime, the furthest I could make it into the mecha genre was the subversion of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Overwatch Wrecking Ball guide: Be the ball, win ALL your games!
Events This is definitely a good idea. Alright, it's time. For two years on this website I've talked about Wrecking Ball, my love for the annoying rodent, and how he's good, actually. However, the one thing I've never done is actually divulge any of my secrets about how to actually play Wrecking Ball. So, I now give to you an Overwatch Wrecking Ball guide full of the tricks of the trade. You too can swing with the greatest of ease and come in like Miley Cyrus in 2013.
New Blizzard EULA states: Screw you, you don’t own anything
It's not uncommon your End-User License Agreements, or EULAs, to have some fairly binding language. After all, it's boilerplate legalese meant to cover the skin of said company. However, Reddit caught wind of the new Blizzard EULA agreement that it pushed to all players via BattleNet this past week and nobody is happy. Included in the new Blizzard EULA agreement are a number of new and constricting points that boil down to two things.
Not sweating card order, Becky Lynch wants to open WrestleMania XL
All too often we associated wrestling superstars with unchecked, massive ego. Heck, I'm currently listening to the audiobook for The Death of WCW and it's, essentially, 500 pages of that very topic over and over. Regardless, we have to salute performers when it's clear they're in it for the love of the game. And making millions of dollars. Enter Becky Lynch and her thoughts on her match against women's champion Rhea Ripley at Wrestlemania XL.
Sin Mommy, yes: Diablo 4 comes to Xbox Game Pass this week
You can't keep a good demon down. The wicked fruits of the Activision buyout by Microsoft rewards long-suffering fans, as Diablo 4 comes to Xbox Game Pass on March 28. For those that have held out until now, you shall be rewarded with a perfectly fine addition to the series. At the least, each new season of Diablo 4 has had a distinct style, and now Game Pass stans can join the fun. In addition to Diablo 4, a slew of other games are set to join the Xbox Game Pass lineup.
A Dragon’s Dogma 2 disease, Dragonsplague, is killing NPC pawns
In the early days of World of Warcraft, a digital plague spread across the lands of Azeroth. Called the Corrupted Blood Incident, this infection spread to players across all servers and killed scores of characters as it went. So famous was the blood plague that it led to actual, real-world studies on transmission. We now face a similar virulent disease in Dragon's Dogma 2 called the Dragonsplague. Infecting the game's NPC pawns, the Dragonsplague also runs a real risk of corrupting your save.
When does Season of Discovery Phase 3, Sunken Temple go live?
The Season of Discovery rolls on, as Blizzard announced today when Phase 3 of its WoW Classic experiment goes live. Thursday, April 4 at 4 p.m. EST is when the level cap once again goes up, this time from 41 to 50. In addition, WoW Season of Discovery Phase 3 also features another old dungeon converted into a new-ish raid. This time around, 20-player groups will raid the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, better known as the Sunken Temple. Let's learn some lore and where we'll be going this time around.
Blizzard opens pre-orders for expensive World of Warcraft keycaps
It's never been a better time to be a mechanical keyboard fan. While some hate the clickity clack of every button press, there's a lot of cool customization options available. Not just limited to RGB lights, there's entire companies dedicated to creating unique color sets and even individual keys for any theme. Blizzard is attempting to get into the game with its own World of Warcraft 'artisan' keycaps, available for pre-order today.
Tough Enough Shippuden? WWE Next Gen debuts on Roku in April
WWE has spent the better part of two decades creating documentary content around its youngest stars. Starting with the somewhat ground breaking reality series Tough Enough in 2001, it's a trend the promotion continues to this day. After all, why not? There is an allure to the stories surrounding young athletes attempting to break into the business. WWE now partners with Roku to debut its next attempt with WWE Next Gen.
Overwatch 2 Reinhardt guide: Play like a jerk, win more games!
Events REIN TALKS LIKE THIS, SO WHY NOT PLAY LIKE THIS TOO? I'll be the first to admit that Reinhardt is not in the best place right now. Not for a lack of buffs, but our favorite shield hero has struggled to find a place in the world of 5v5 teams. No longer a game about slowly walking forward with a shield up, the world's biggest David Hasselhoff fan seemingly lacks an identity in today's meta.
Uganda promotion SGW heel Lord White is wrestling’s top heel
Events Roman Reigns? Samoa Joe? These pro wrestling villains pale in comparison to the sport's newest top heel. One of the best things about professional wrestling is how it's part of a universal language. Every country in the world partakes in its pageantry, even when they don't have an actual ring. Enter SGW heel Lord White of the Ugandan promotion Soft Ground Wrestling. The promotion went viral this weekend after releasing a video on social media that now has over four million views.
WoW is getting a 60 player battle royale mode, Plunderstorm
The mysterious patch 10.2.6 is now revealed and it's.... Not what I think anyone expected? That is, unless you've been saying for five years that World of Warcraft was going to eventually enter the battle royale business. Good news for that one annoying guy in every guild then, as WoW Plunderstorm was unveiled today.
Overwatch players are crying over Quick Play Double Trouble
Events Double the trouble, double the complaining. You nerds just can't try anything new, can you? Announced a few weeks back was the next "Quick Play Hacked" experiment coming to Overwatch 2. For those out of the loop, QP Hacked is a short-term change to the game's main Quick Play mode that messes with the ruleset. The last time, we got faster timers and quicker Ultimate charge. This time around, Overwatch Quick Play Double Trouble allows the selection of the same DPS and Support hero.
Dear Stardew Valley: I will not be drinking any mayonnaise, thank you
If you're a Stardew Valley stan then March 19 is a big day. At long last, the content patch for version 1.6 of the long-running farm simulator arrives. With it comes a number of updates, quality of life changes, and overall great improvements. However, there's one change that simply cannot be considered an improvement, upgrade, bonus, gain, or positive of any kind. You'll now be able to drink mayonnaise in Stardew Valley. Stardew fans want one thing, and it's truly disgusting.
WWE documentary Bray Wyatt Becoming Immortal coming to Peacock April 1
In an industry where death is more common than we'd like, the passing of Bray Wyatt especially stings. His sudden death last August from COVID-related heart issues still feels unreal. Maybe it's because it felt like man who led the Wyatt clan was so young, and yet so influential on pro wrestling during his time on our screens. WWE and Peacock are going to explore the body of his work this coming April with Bray Wyatt Becoming Immortal.
WWE Summerslam 2024 is coming to Cleveland, Ohio
Considering I live 15 minutes from Cleveland Browns Stadium, I can only assume that WWE is trying to wreck the local traffic pattern for me and me only. Regardless, it was announced today that the 2024 WWE Summerslam event will take place from Cleveland, Ohio in August. The move comes during a period of duress for the city, in regards to events and the very stadium where said event will take place, Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Street Fighter 6 Akuma reveal is all mystery, Spring release date
Oh, good. I was worried he wouldn’t be in this one. The least surprising addition to the Street Fighter 6 roster is finally upon us. After all, it wouldn't be a Street Fighter game without Akuma, would it? Revealed today by Capcom during a livestream all about future updates, we finally have a release date thanks to the Street Fighter 6 Akuma reveal. And really, that's all we have--the trailer is short on information and long on words.
Hearthstone Anniversary World of Warcraft event: What to know
Happy ten years of Hearthstone! It feels like only yesterday that the fun World of Warcraft card game was only in beta. And now, here we are ten years later and still playing. Honestly, it's kind of astounding. That kind of longevity deserves a celebration, and what better way to party on the Hearthstone Anniversary than with some World of Warcraft in-game goodness?
The Greatest, period: Muhammad Ali is your next 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductee
Our list of 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductees grows further still, now with Muhammad Ali joining a prestigious group. Announced today on social media by Mr. Paul Levesque himself, the literal and actual greatest boxer to ever live will receive his flowers at this year's ceremony. Ali joins Paul Heyman, joshi legend Bull Nakano, and the U.S. Express so far in the lineup. And if you aren't old enough or don't know your WrestleMania history, this may just seem like a celebratory nod.
Overwatch Cowboy Bebop skins revealed in new gameplay trailer
Cassidy doesn’t have a hat and it’s freaking me out. At last we saw an Overwatch anime collab, the team at Blizzard had an ethos about how to handle the skin designs. At the time, the idea was that the characters in the One Punch Man crossover weren't the characters themselves, but cosplaying or inspired by it. Well, it appears that has gone out the window. We have our first official look today in an Overwatch Cowboy Bebop gameplay trailer as to how the skins will look.
WB Smash-alike Multiversus gets 2024 launch date, now in Unreal Engine 5
What once was old is new yet again. What was a highly hyped, free-to-play launch last year, the WB Smash Bros. competitor Multiversus quietly went away. With little explanation, the game went into hibernation and no ETA. Well, it surely must be spring, as Multiversus is back with a 2024 launch date and sporting a new Unreal Engine 5 coat of paint. The announcement comes after a week of teasing from the Multiversus Twitter account.
Here’s a whole bunch of Overwatch 2 Cowboy Bebop HD wallpapers
Look: This Overwatch x Cowboy Bebop collab is cool as heck. Am I ready to wreck my wallet next week? Absolutely. Did Blizzard read my mind in picking four of my main heroes for receiving the anime treatment? Yes, again. Do I expect Wrecking Ball's Ein mech to look like the MUTT CUTTS truck from Dumb & Dumber? Indeed. To celebrate, we've made Way Too Many Overwatch Cowboy Bebop wallpapers. Keep an eye on this space, as we'll be adding more Overwatch Cowboy Bebop wallpapers in HD resolution.
Former NJPW star Kazuchika Okada makes AEW debut on Dynamite
It's time to see if the United States wrestling scene is ready for rain. Making his AEW debut tonight on a new-look episode of Dynamite, former NJPW champion Kazuchika Okada officially joined the company. The 36 year-old phenom's arrival to the number two wrestling company in the US comes after months of "will he, won't he" debate over his eventual destination.
Luminosity Gaming signs the whole dang Maryville Esports Overwatch team
It looks like one former org just couldn't stay out of Overwatch esports for long. It was announced earlier today that Luminosity Gaming is partnering with the successful Maryville University esports program to field an Overwatch team for the upcoming OWCS. And not just any team, but the exact squad that already makes up Maryville Esports. Defined by both on social media as a "partnership," this may just be a case of Luminosity being the team's main sponsor.
Light the fuse: The best AEW entrances of all time
Events Taylor Swift Eras Tour Documentary: Release Date, platform, and what to expect AEW Revolution 2024 results, ratings: Sting's last match Inside Out 2: Release date, cast, trailer The Garfield Movie 2024 - Release date, trailer and more Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, release date, and cast Paul Heyman is your first WWE Hall of Fame 2024 inductee IF (2024): Release date, plot, cast and trailer Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai release date, trailer, and voice actors Godzilla x Kong:...
Every 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductee so far
Taking place on April 5 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA is the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame event. A yearly tradition on WrestleMania weekend, this year's iteration is already off to an impressive start with its nominees. So, if you're looking for one centralized place to keep up with the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductees then look no further! We'll keep a running list of the nominees below, as well as relevant media that showcases why each is worthy of the hallowed nomination.
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