Alyssa Mercante Writes Rolling Stone Article, Predictable Twitter Meltdown Ensues...

Alyssa Mercante’s Desperate Grab for Relevance and Her Freelance Work with Rolling Stone

Alyssa Mercante, a now infamous name known in some corners of the gaming industry for her ...ahem... outspoken behavior, personal attacks, unhinged behavior, and "controversial" takes, is now making a move to maintain any sort of relevance in the game industry. Now, she’s taken on what looks to be a freelance or byline role at Rolling Stone, a publication that’s been trying to carve out its space in gaming coverage with ...mixed results, for years. Mercante’s latest stint comes at a time when she’s been struggling to stay relevant, facing significant backlash from the vast majority of the gaming community for her past rhetoric and aggressive interactions. For those who've followed her career, this 'new' position at Rolling Stone doesn’t come as a shock at all tbh... but rather, serves as a testament to her unrelenting push to continue using the game industry as a vehicle to push her activism - to stay within the industry spotlight.

For Rolling Stone, hiring Mercante on - even for a single article here - signals a clear disconnect from understanding her impact on the community or the heavy baggage she brings alongside her. Her aggressive interactions (over the past year especially) have positioned her as a... polarizing figure, someone who draws criticism and tension just to be one the front page of the news. From the perspective of someone deeply imbedded in gaming culture - this odd decision showcases Rolling Stone’s lack of insight into the industry dynamics and the importance of building a rapport with gaming audiences rather than alienating them.

Mercante’s combative nature was recently on full display when she lashed out on social media after I tweeted that no game industry company should employ her if they want to see any kind of long term success - and I genuinely believe that to be the case.

She... didn't take too kindly to my sentiment of course, and responded with a series of tweets that read more like personal grievances of her own projections rather than any kind of professional rebuttals.

She then decides to continue on her unhinged rant...

"Jeff Tarzia has been trying to make it as a YouTuber for nearly a decade and has been in and out of jobs tangentially related to the industry for longer. He chases whatever gets him clicks and since March, it’s been me."

"He didn’t work for years and was coasting off of his GameStop stock money, got a job and held it for barely two years, then went straight back to trying to grow his YouTube presence by chasing internet drama."

Her bitterness is quite... evident here, to be kind. Her tweets are showcasing her ongoing fixation with whenever any critics call her out. It's like a drug... a dopamine hit to some people.

In short: he’s a middle-aged man desperate for relevance with no discernible talent latching on to clickbait and internet drama to justify his 18K streamer shed.

I’d be mortified to have this man as my father.

Alyssa gets personal, and brings family into the equation. Come on, Alyssa - we know you lack intellect but even YOU have to know better than to go here with anyone. Your behavior only cements why so many actual gamers believe you're not fit for any position within gaming media whatsoever... and you continue to prove it over and over again with everything you do.

LegoGuru200 sums up her 'feminism' approach perfectly:

An Brief Analysis of Mercante’s ‘Halo 2’ Retrospective

Mercante’s first major piece for Rolling Stone was an article titled ‘Halo 2’ Is a Classic, But Its Development Was a Mess. While the headline definitely gives that nod to nostalgia, her piece ultimately reveals her underlying intentions: it’s less about honoring gaming history and more about reiterating familiar narratives that align with activism. The article dives into the development challenges faced by the original Bungie team, emphasizing the high-stress, crunch-heavy environment during the making of Halo 2.

Mercante has a long history of injecting tidbits of activism sprinkled throughout her writing, and in this case - framing game development through a critical social lens often infuses her articles with a broader message about industry-wide problems. Her background as a writer who consistently blends industry criticism with progressive and activist viewpoints is easy to spot. Her approach means that for readers familiar with her previous pieces, her coverage often goes beyond recounting events and nostalgia to serve as a commentary on the gaming industry's structural issues. By using game history as a vehicle for her move to the target, Mercante continues to reinforce conversations about ongoing "systemic" challenges, positioning her writing as part of a larger pattern aimed at creating a dialogue around workplace practices, diversity, and labor rights within the gaming sector.

It's blatant.

Mercante’s position at Rolling Stone is a move that speaks volumes for the entire community. For a journalist who has sparked this kinda backlash within the gaming community and has a long history of antagonistic engagements, stepping into a publication with a relatively detached understanding of gaming audiences seems fitting. Rolling Stone most likely has no idea just how universally unliked and unwelcomed she is by what feels like the vast majority. It’s a partnership poised to draw clicks... but not without sparking even more debates and raising eyebrows within the industry. It's obvious that she knows she is not wanted, but falls back on ol' reliable here to continue beinng comfortable in what she knows - using the game industry as a vehicle to push her 'message' and agenda. For Rolling Stone, the publication is clearly lost and feeling its way through gaming journalism without any real grasp of what makes the community heartbeat tick.

~Smash