Building on video game culture, experimentation, and play, Difference Engine will be bringing a new collection of stories in Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology. We’re incredibly excited to reveal the full lineup of creators, featuring works selected from the open call as well as our guest contributors.
When conceptualising the anthology, we wanted to celebrate and explore the impact of video games on traditional narrative forms of prose, comics, poetry, and visual art. In doing so, we have diversified in the range of works published in this anthology – from fiction to non-fiction comics to written pieces and multimedia works, Free to Play explores the relationship between video games and storytelling from all angles.
Free to Play is also our first anthology that invited submissions from international creators beyond the Southeast Asian region. In a tough selection process over 180 submissions, our four-person editorial team — Natalie Wang, Adan Jimenez, Joses Ho, and Daryl Lim Wei Jie — have curated a collection of pieces to both be a love letter and a challenge to what video games and gaming culture are and can be.
Here is the lineup of the final stories and creators that will be featured in the anthology:
A Seat at Venba’s Table (Non-fiction)
by Varsha Sivaram (Singapore)
All the Skin(s) You Left Behind (Multimedia)
By Mak Ming Qi, Sarah (Singapore) and Nic Chan (Hong Kong)
All The Times I was Dragonborn: ‘Alongsideness’ and Memorialisation in Action Role-Playing Games (Non-fiction)
By Nuraliah Norasid (Singapore)
Boys and Girls Across Dead Worlds (Non-fiction)
By Alex K. Masse (Canada)
Dawn of Clarandera (Fiction)
By Meihan Boey (Singapore)
Don’t Start Without Me (Poetry)
By Kenneth Lam (Singapore)
Fast Travel (Poetry)
By Adriana X. Jacobs (USA)
God of War (Non-fiction comic)
By Maya Escobar (USA)
Going Out of Bounds (Non-fiction)
By Daryl Li Zhenhong (Singapore)
He is You, She’s For You (Fiction comic)
By Hana Luisa Binte Yaacob (Singapore)
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone (Fiction comic)
By Anthony Falleroni (USA)
memory leak (Multimedia)
By Leong Yi Zhen (Malaysia)
No Man Is An Island (Non-fiction comic)
By Ellie Black (USA)
Press ‘Y’ to Reboot (Non-fiction)
By Noor Tannir (Lebanon)
snake on a train (Poetry)
By Huang Si Ying Judith (Singapore)
The Last Bonfire (Fiction comic)
By Myle Yan Tay (Writer, Singapore) and Natalie M. E. Tan (Artist, Singapore)
The Short, Sweet Life of Commander Brian (Fiction)
By Gabriela Lee (Philippines)
Additionally, here are the previously announced guest creators that will feature in the anthology:
Lee Wen-yi (Singapore)
Erica Eng (Malaysia)
Alvin Pang (Singapore)
Ken Liu (USA)
Thank you to everyone who has entrusted us with their work. Just like how some of our favourite games need to take a pause to buffer, we will be letting these works “buffer” in the hands of their talented creators, before we press “play” again.
Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology will be published in mid-2026. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our mailing list to stay updated on the anthology’s launch.
