Hi! I’m Mikhail Klimentov.

For over three years, I was an editor at The Washington Post’s video game and esports vertical, Launcher. But in early 2023, The Post announced it was shuttering the site.

Since then, I’ve continued writing and reporting independently, breaking the news that Riot Games canceled work on a prototype platform fighter code-named Pool Party, exposing the internal communications of a company acquired by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and being the first to report that professional League of Legends players were planning to vote to stage a walkout — marking a historic first stab at collective action in esports. (I also interviewed the brainrot fake podcast Skibidi Toilet guys… you know the ones.)

If you’re interested in reading more, take a stroll through the archive and hit that subscribe button!

A short disclaimer: I no longer cover video games for The Washington Post. None of my writing here should be interpreted as relating to my work at The Post, or connected in any way to my current role.

Have a tip, or want to get in touch?

I can be reached on Bluesky at @LeaderGrev (my DMs are open) or securely via email at mikhail (at) readergrev (dot) com.

If you’re contacting me with leaks or sensitive information, make sure you’re reaching out to me from a personal device or account (versus, say, your work email or company laptop).

Here’s a highlight reel of my clips from The Washington Post

• Over a dozen workers at TSM and Blitz told me about the "culture of fear" fostered by CEO Andy Dinh, and a resulting exodus of talent. Some workers appear to have been misclassified as contractors, not employees, based on interviews and docs I reviewed. “Nobody wanted to be in a one-on-one meeting with Andy because you had no witnesses,” one employee told me. This story took about 5 months and probably upwards of 50 calls and interviews to pull together.

• We all use phones on the toilet. Just don’t sit more than 10 minutes. This was a quick, fun, reported piece that arose out of a personal observation: I’ve been playing a lot of “Marvel Snap” on the toilet. It landed me a short spot on TV to discuss the story’s findings.

• Game reviews help answer the weighty question of how to spend your time on Earth. It's too bad the whole system around how they’re written is designed to make that harder. I wrote about the ways in which the video game review process is broken — and why that’s bad for readers, writers and games.

• In 2022, the Ukrainian esports organization NAVI said it would relocate or let go of employees who live in and pay taxes to the Russian Federation. I broke that news.

Who made the cool art on this website?

My logo and wordmark are designed by Sonny Ross. You can find their work here. Most of my article header images also include illustrated elements created by Sonny, and then remixed in Photoshop by yours truly.