Jake Tucker

Jake Tucker focuses on spotlighting distinctive PC games that stand out on a show floor, using hands-on impressions to explain the specific mechanics and moods that make them worth attention. As editorial director for the PC Gaming Show at PC Gamer, he combines curation of showcase lineups with regular coverage of new and upcoming PC titles across shooters, strategy games and horror.

Frantic movement and giant mechs

Tucker’s coverage of first-person shooters leans on pace, movement and a clear sense of how a game feels to play, often framed through sharp nostalgia. In his piece on Empulse, he zeroes in on frantic locomotion, giant mechs and the way its design recalls Xbox 360-era FPS campaigns, using that era as a benchmark for modern gunfeel and spectacle. A feature on Beautiful Freaks of the Desert highlights its speedrunning structure and rebellious tone, describing how sprinting through desert arenas while flipping off data-centre aesthetics creates a distinctive identity for the game. He brings the same attention to kinetic design to Wind Runners, describing how its cockpit perspective and tight controls turn a short demo into a convincing fantasy of being a fighter pilot within seconds. Across these articles he focuses less on exhaustive technical breakdowns and more on clear, concrete observations about movement, rhythm and attitude, giving fast reads that still convey what playing these shooters actually feels like.

Dust till Dawn and Escape From Playtime

Horror coverage from Tucker tends to centre on unusual concepts and the intersection of tension with playful or everyday themes. In his Dust till Dawn piece, he introduces the game as a horror-themed “clean-’em-up”, detailing how methodical cleaning tasks collide with unsettling atmosphere and music from the composer known for Silent Hill, and why that contrast makes the concept memorable. On the horror section of PC Gamer, his byline sits alongside Escape From Playtime, a co-op survival horror where players take the role of toy animals, foregrounding its small-scale protagonists and collaborative structure as the hook.

These stories focus on the pitch and the emotional tone - cleaning in haunted spaces, tiny toys in dangerous environments - while still noting specific systems and audio cues, which keeps the coverage clear for readers looking for fresh horror ideas rather than broad genre commentary.

Mechabellum is a conversation you should be having

Tucker’s work on strategy and tactics games highlights the social and competitive contexts these titles create as much as their mechanics. In his Mechabellum article, he frames the auto-battler not just as a game but as a “conversation you should be having,” pointing to how its unit matchups and emergent counters foster ongoing discussions among players about optimal approaches. His Company of Heroes coverage underlines the series’ ability to strain friendships, using the familiar RTS tension between cooperation and competition to explain why its multiplayer sessions remain compelling. He also writes about his favourite card-battling action brawler getting a sequel, focusing on the blend of deck-building and real-time combat and the immediate availability of the sequel as a key point for readers ready to jump in. Across these pieces he consistently anchors strategy and tactics coverage in concrete scenarios - fragile alliances, deck choices, unit synergies - while stressing how these games create stories between players, not just on the screen.

The PC Gaming Show returns to heat up your summer

Tucker’s role around the PC Gaming Show gives his coverage a strong showcase and event perspective, and his writing reflects that remit. His announcement that the PC Gaming Show returns to heat up the summer outlines the format, spin-off editions like the Tokyo Direct event, and clear instructions for developers on how to put upcoming games forward for inclusion, signalling his gatekeeping and curation responsibilities.

In a piece on Happy Bastards’ PC Gaming Show trailer, he focuses on its “masterclass in delegation,” unpacking how the trailer’s framing of a harried character and offloaded tasks communicates the game’s tone efficiently to a show audience. His Mechabellum coverage also fits this event lens, positioning the game as a conversation point that belongs on the broader PC strategy radar, which aligns with his job of choosing titles that play well in a showcase environment.

Beyond individual games, he contributes to platform-level discussion, as in a feature outlining nine major areas where Steam needs improvement in 2026, drawing on his experience returning to games and navigating store pages to argue for clearer DLC surfacing and other practical fixes. Outside PC Gamer, Tucker has worked in video game, tech and culture journalism for over a decade, including serving as commissioning editor for the video game section at NME, holding senior roles at outlets such as Red Bull, Trusted Reviews and MCV, and publishing bylines at Vice, Eurogamer and other gaming and culture sites, which underpins the editorial and strategic focus visible in his current work.