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Mike Diver, journalist, author (Aliens: The Video Games)

About this episode

Mike Diver is a British journalist, editor, and author whose career has moved fluidly between music criticism and video games writing, always with an eye for subculture, history, and stories beyond the mainstream. He began at the music website Drowned in Sound, where he rose to become content editor, before going on to work with Clash and contribute to publications including Kerrang! and Rock Sound.


Later, he turned increasingly to video games, writing for outlets including Edge and Kotaku - as well as heading up teams at VICE Gaming (later Waypoint) and GAMINGbible - and bringing the same curiosity and critical energy to games culture, retro hardware, and the history of the medium. Alongside his journalism, he has written six books on video games and edited several more, covering subjects from indie games and esports to Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy. His latest book, Aliens: The Video Games, continues that fascination with the way great pop-cultural worlds mutate and endure through interactive form.


LINKS


Mike Diver – website & book

Mike Diver – Aliens: The Video Games: An Unofficial Guide (Waterstones, out 30 August 2026)

Aliens: The Video Games – publisher White Owl / Pen and Sword


Alien games discussed

Alien: Isolation – Steam

Aliens: Dark Descent – Steam

Aliens: Colonial Marines – Wikipedia

Aliens: Infestation (Nintendo DS) – Wikipedia

Aliens vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994 arcade) – Wikipedia

Alien: Rogue Incursion – Steam

Alien: Isolation 2 – official announcement trailer


Mike's Perfect Console

Sensible Soccer (1992) – Wikipedia

Sensible World of Soccer – Wikipedia

Streets of Rage 2 – Wikipedia

Streets of Rage 4 – official site

Snatcher – Wikipedia

1944: The Loop Master – Wikipedia

Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (includes 1944) – Steam

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – official site

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Steam


Other games and references mentioned

Drowned in Sound – Wikipedia (music website where Mike began his career)

Vice Gaming / Waypoint – Wikipedia

Aftermath – independent games journalism site

Respec – independent games journalism site

Mina the Hollower – Yacht Club Games

Yuzo Koshiro – composer of Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack, Wikipedia

Hideo Kojima – Wikipedia

Evercade – retro gaming handheld


Next week's guest

Sarah Maria Griffin – official website

Eat the Ones You Love – Sarah Maria Griffin's latest novel (Waterstones)

Sarah Maria Griffin – writing about video games for The Guardian


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Mike Diver, journalist, author (Aliens: The Video Games)

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

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