"They're mad it's working": Asmongold reacts to an article calling him out for his opinion on gaming culture and politics

Twitch streamer Zack "Asmongold" was recently the main focus of an article titled All We Wanted to Do Was Play Video Games, published by The Atlantic. The article's author shared their opinion on Asmon's streaming style and placed special attention on the streamer's political and video game reviews. Additionally, the article used Asmon as an anchor point for broader discussions on politics.

The Atlantic was critical of Amsongold as well, comparing the streamer's views on politics to those of "some guy on the couch." User @Awk20000 posted excerpts of the article on X, and soon after, Asmon responded, citing another piece from The Game Business discussing how "the number of video game articles dropped by over 100,000 in Q1."

This article discussed why the journalism industry saw a 13% decline in video game-related article publications during the first three months of 2024.

Along with citing the article, Zack wrote a caption that read:

"They're not mad about what I'm saying, they're mad it's working."

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What did The Atlantic say about Asmongold?

One particular excerpt from the publication associated the streamer with Gamergate, a loosely organized online harassment campaign from 2014 to 2015 that targeted women in the video game industry:

"Asmongold’s foray into political commentary often seems to have been undertaken half-heartedly. The gaming world’s rightward drift can be traced back to the 'Gamergate' controversy of a decade ago..."

For context, The Game Business article cited statistics that "highlight a significant drop in people writing about video games." Overall, it suggested that journalists seemed to be focusing on trendworthy pieces about the industry's "biggest titles." This behaviour of journalists leaving and a continued focus on popular topics had reportedly led to some websites closing entirely.

Asmongold potentially cited the article reference as a clap-back against The Atlantic, indicating how video game-themed articles had taken a nosedive in recent history.

Asmon was not the only streamer The Atlantic included in their post; Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan "HasanAbi" Piker received an honorable mention, and was referenced as the "Joe Rogan of the left":

"Not all gaming streamers are alike; Piker, who’s been hyped as the potential 'Joe Rogan of the left' in news coverage since the election, delivers heady Marxist theory and wonkish research on geopolitics in a tone of frat-boy exuberance."

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In other news, Asmongold expressed optimism about the future after overhearing kids at a park casually use the R-word slur, suggesting that things might turn out fine despite concerns.