Twin. Gamer. Esports Sustainability Consultant. #GrowthHacker. #Blockchain Advocate. Founder of #IndieDev #IndieGame community @MetarenaGG.
Tampa, FL
Joined April 2010
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Marcus Howard retweeted
#Esports Journalism is on life support. And greedy AI loving boards and CEOs are pulling the plug.
Marcus Howard retweeted
Not the news I was expecting, but as of today, my role at Esports Insider is at risk of redundancy.
While this is extremely disappointing, it does mean that I am actively looking for a new place to call home, whether it's writing or a move to PR.
RTs/leads appreciated!
Marcus Howard retweeted
All your favorite esports outlets are probably compromised at this point. AI written content, gray market gambling, Saudi money, choose-your-own-adventure. Maybe stop supporting the ones that no longer employ humans. Just a thought.
Marcus Howard retweeted
I read somewhere that people have accepted the Esports World Cup and put away the negative ideas associated with it being a Saudi Arabian government-backed veent. Maybe the public has, maybe it hasn't, but nothing has changed in the country as far as I know...
Just one example: There were 356 executions in 2025 by the Kingdom, breaking 2024 records, according to Human Rights Watch (@hrw). Further, Saudi authorities executed Turki al-Jasser, a journalist "known for exposing corruption within the Saudi royal family," on June 14, 2025.
That and other problems in the Kingdom are not something we can ignore. And before we do the whataboutism concerning America, I agree - it is now a challenge coming to America to take part in events, given the civil unrest and changing immigration/visa and enforcement policies that are now part of the daily news cycle. But the U.S. government does not own or operate any esports programs or competitions currently.
hrw.org/news/2026/01/13/saud…
Marcus Howard retweeted
People should be very worried that I am going to lose my ability to talk. This means no more calls, interviews, or meetings, and more time to do hours and hours of research and digging into stuff. My biggest limiter has always been time and i'm going to have a lot more of it on my hands. I'm also going to have a lot of unresolved feelings, which I'm going to need to channel into something constructive. My work will be my pressure valve. You might laugh at all this, but I promise you, some of you nefarious types won't be laughing when I turn over your rock.
Marcus Howard retweeted
BTW anyone thinking that PIF wouldn't own the majority of EA is just not operating with any common sense. Of course they would own a majority of it! Come on.
Marcus Howard retweeted
Some heads may roll both metaphorically and literally at some of these mega projects that are losing billions of dollars for the Saudi government.
More Fuel Needed: A @nytimes report suggests that the Saudi Arabian government's Public Investment Fund is out of cash for future investments, at least in the short term:
esportsadvocate.net/2025/11/…
Marcus Howard retweeted
I’m pricing Hytale as aggressively low as possible. I’m taking on a considerable personal risk after repurchasing the game and getting it ready for early access for a growing team of now 50 talented individuals. I said I was all in, and I am delivering on that promise.
The game is unfinished and runs on a build from over four years ago. Charging more didn’t feel right. I don’t think the game is good yet. My team and I will push hard to make it good, then great. The vision is clear and progress is fast.
I want as many players as possible to jump in. Times are tough in the current economy for a lot of you, and I want everyone to have a fair chance to be part of what comes next.
Thank you for the support.
Marcus Howard retweeted
The best thing that can happen to esports is the consolidation of teams to finally eject all the grifters who scammed investors but have no real weight or acumen in the space.
75% of Western teams have no purpose except to serve as ATMs for overpaid pros.
Marcus Howard retweeted
“Should active Tier-1 pros be able to play at the collegiate level?” I think we’ll be debating that (rightfully so) for years and years as the support for collegiate grows.
However FFing because “there’s no point in playing” will forever be the most cowardly opinion ever.
“If he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Marcus Howard retweeted
i fucking hate canadian companies. all of them. enthusiast and vertical. ur letting ppl go and writing a cheery fake ass laid off email. fuck u canada. fuck every startup and esports org in canada.
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Marcus Howard retweeted
I talk a lot of smack, but this is genuinely concerning for all of esports.
What happens when they fail and these states get burned. It is going to hurt the whole ecosystem and send these states back years.
These rates are unacceptable. #playvsnever
Marcus Howard retweeted
My Latest: Inside ESL’s Latest Town Hall Meeting
The Zoom meeting featured no Q&A session but assured employees "the worst is over."
Link in reply:
Marcus Howard retweeted
Every time an org like Luminosity flops like this, doesn’t just screw the content creators, it scares off investors and makes everyone question if esports is even a sustainable industry.
The trust we lose here sets the whole industry back, and yes, even the ones doing it right.
Marcus Howard retweeted
A “blind purchase” does not exempt you from the creditor’s claims. You purchased it. It’s now your job to pay who you owe.
Next time pay attention.
I reached out to the CEO, Jon Dwyer, who has provided a statement:
"We have been working diligently to address the concerns of all the creators, and of equal importance the ongoing operation of Luminosity. We will release news to the market shortly about the future direction of Luminosity, which were really excited about. We purchased enthusiast gaming’s direct media sales business in a blind process from their creditors. This was a distressed purchase and it’s unfortunate the community around Luminosity is pointing the finger at us, but I totally understand how they feel. I would be very upset too. My hope is that in coming weeks the Luminosity community and its creators will be happy with the outcome, and increasingly understand that Vertiqal is trying to make the best of a distressed purchase, and has nothing but love for the Luminosity community."
Marcus Howard retweeted
Having run an esports org in the past, I’ve seen how this kind of thing happens behind the scenes more times than I’d like to admit.
So let me explain…
When Vertiqal says they bought Luminosity’s media business “in a blind process from creditors,” that means Enthusiast’s debt got called in and Vertiqal scooped up the assets, not the stable operation.
It’s like buying a house mid-foreclosure: you get the keys, but the lights are off and the bills are stacked.
Right now, Vertiqal’s probably trying to untangle messy contracts, unpaid obligations, and a business model that was already bleeding.
So no, the creators haven’t been paid, not because they’re being ignored, but because the company they signed with doesn’t technically exist anymore in its original form.
The new owners clearly didn’t realize the size of the hole they jumped into. That’s just inexperience. Esports is a money pit when it’s run like a media startup instead of a competitive ecosystem.
I get the frustration. Creators deserve to be paid period. But Vertiqal didn’t build the problem, they inherited a financial mess from a company that had already overextended itself trying to be “the esports version of Disney.”
The next few weeks are going to show if they can stabilize or if this is just another name slapped on a brand that’s been gutted one too many times.
Creators signed to @Luminosity are starting to call out Vertiqal Studios, as well as its CEO, @Jon_Dwyer, for lack of payment and communication.
Vertiqal Studios ($VRTS TSX) acquired Luminosity on September 2, 2025.
newsfilecorp.com/release/264…
ALT Today I am removing any association I have with @Luminosity . I've been signed to the organization since August 1st and in my time over the last 3 months I have not been paid a dollar of the $3,000 I am owed. But the money is the least important thing to me. I joined Luminosity originally because of promises made to help fund events in the Minecraft content space. At the time of this tweet there has only been only radio silence. Radio silence not just to me, but to the roughly 30 other content creators that @Jon_Dwyer and his company operates. This is because Luminosity went under an ownership change in early September when Jon bought the org. Many of the creators, myself included, held out hope that eventually, surely, Jon would extend an olive branch to us given how patient, respectful, and understanding we have been during the entire process, and none of that was ever reciprocated. I'm posting this publicly not just for myself (although I am quite upset) But to also help giv
ALT This week will mark three months since I have received payment from @Luminosity , @Jon_Dwyer . My outstanding balance is now just under $10,000. @WeAreEnthusiast sold LG to Vertiqal Studios and it was taken over in the early days of September. Since then, we have not been introduced to even 1 singular person from the Vertiqal Studios team and our ONLY point of contact has been @tylernormington who (thankfully) was brought over with the transition. Unfortunately, communication with Ty has been few and far between as well but he let us know time and time again that he has just as little information. He has been left with the task of keeping his cool while trying to keep us members positive and hopeful. We were told this week we would receive any outstanding payment BY or ON Oct. 31 which I’m sure you can guess, didn’t happen. I am truly starting to believe Jon and whoever was involved in the decision of purchasing LG wanted this. Did you want the members to leave so you don’t ha
Marcus Howard retweeted
FYI to the LG creators after reading your contracts
You can formally request payments and if you have documentation of the formal written request not being paid within 30 days you can pursue legal actions
With more than 10+ creators in a similar situation you could turn it into a class action.
Just saying 🤷♂️
Today I am removing any association I have with @Luminosity.
I've been signed to the organization since August 1st and in my time over the last 3 months I have not been paid a dollar of the $3,000 I am owed.
But the money is the least important thing to me. I joined Luminosity originally because of promises made to help fund events in the Minecraft content space. At the time of this tweet there has only been only radio silence. Radio silence not just to me, but to the roughly 30 other content creators that @Jon_Dwyer and his company operates.
This is because Luminosity went under an ownership change in early September when Jon bought the org. Many of the creators, myself included, held out hope that eventually, surely, Jon would extend an olive branch to us given how patient, respectful, and understanding we have been during the entire process, and none of that was ever reciprocated.
I'm posting this publicly not just for myself (although I am quite upset) But to also help give a voice to the other content creators who are still holding out hope with Luminosity. These are fantastic, incredible people who work hard and don't deserve the treatment they are getting. I'm incredibly lucky to be in a position where even though my girlfriend is going through expensive cancer treatment, the money is not something that makes or breaks my financial stability at the moment, but not everyone is fortunate enough to say that.
There's so much more that I could mention, but this tweet is long enough. I'm incredibly sorry to my supporters who were looking forward to what this could look like for the future of Minecraft events and esports and I truly would not have signed and given hope in the first place publicly if it were not for the months before signing where there were meaningful conversations with the previous ownership group. I look forward to taking my ideas that I presented and working with other companies/organizations to make them a reality one day.
Lastly I'd like to apologize if there are any typos as I'm writing this pretty frantically this morning, as I didn't want this to feel like a schedule or "corporate" type of tweet. And a huge thank you to @tylernormington as he's been the only bright spot in this entire ordeal trying to keep the creators updated as best as he could.
I'd like the focus of this tweet to not be on myself, but again to the incredibly other Luminosity creators dealing with this behind the scenes and have been for up to 3 months. Thank you for your time.