Design Room is turning 1 and we're lowering prices

One year ago today, I pressed the big green button and launched Design Room.

The plan from the start was to run against trends and focus on elaborate games industry oral histories, and I think we've done a decent job of that. We've published stories on high-profile games (Mirror's Edge, Shadow of the Colossus, Spore), hardcore favorites (Sayonara Wild Hearts, The Addams Family pinball, Vib-Ribbon), and lovable obscurities (Final Fight Revenge, Prop Cycle, Sound Fantasy). We've done great art collaborations, dug up rare development assets, and spent countless hours stressing over small details most people won't notice.

Now we're ready to do it all again, and we're making big changes for year 2 — all of which are designed to add value to our main paid subscription option, the Supporter tier.

Here's what to expect from year 2:

1. We're lowering prices

First, we're dropping the annual price of the Supporter tier. Starting now, it will be $7/month or $50/year (a 41% discount!). I spent a lot of time debating pricing, and the thing I kept coming back to is I want to reward people who sign up long-term, so a steeper discount felt like the right call.

2. We're investing in a lot more freelance...

Looking back over our first year, one of the biggest challenges was the tug of war between doing the most ambitious stories possible and publishing stories at a regular pace. We'd post a big story... then have some slow weeks. Or we'd post a few smaller stories... then feel the itch for something bigger. The plan to solve that for year two is simple: throw money at it. We've essentially tripled our freelance budget so you'll be seeing a lot more stories pop up.

Right now we have 31 stories in the works, which is far more than we've had at a single point previously. We also have some really special art collaborations planned, including one that I've been trying to make happen for the better part of a decade. And we have a package on the way that's been rattling around in my brain for a few years.

I'm tempted to reveal these, but I don't want to tempt fate so I'll stick to the one that's almost done: We're kicking things off with a Lorelei and the Laser Eyes story next week.

3. ...most of which will be exclusive to paid subscribers

As part of our push to add value to the Supporter tier, the majority of those 31 stories will be exclusive to paid subscribers. We're not slowing down anything for free subscribers. In fact, we're planning to run the same number of free stories that we did in our first year — and we have some huge examples on the way — but most stories on top of that will be paid exclusives.

4. We're adding new story formats

Our bread and butter will always be big oral histories, but in an effort to add some variety to the site, we're also going to start running more Q&As and editorials — including some from names you may recognize. And I'm planning on launching a media stories column, piecing together anecdotes from my time at 1UP and Polygon.

5. We're moving early access to the Supporter tier

As the final step in beefing up our primary paid tier, we're folding in our early access perk. Subscribers on the Supporter tier will now get — in addition to a wide range of exclusive stories, the ability to comment, and other perks — the chance to read most of our free stories first.

After splitting paid-exclusive stories and early access stories into separate buckets over the past year, it became clear that approach was tough to keep up with. So to keep things simple, if you sign up for the Supporter tier, you get everything. And for anyone who wants to support us at a higher level, we're adding two donation tiers. Those don't come with additional perks — they're simply for people who want to help us do more of what we do.

To recap

The Supporter tier is now cheaper, includes early access to most of our free stories, and will soon be getting a much more consistent flow of exclusive stories. We also now have donation tiers for anyone wanting to support the site at a higher level. The success of all this will go a long way towards determining the site's long-term future, so if you've ever had interest in becoming a paid subscriber, now is a fantastic time to do so.

Thank you to everyone who's helped the site so far — whether by paying, signing up, or simply spreading the word. By all common media logic in 2026, this is a site that shouldn't exist. So I massively appreciate any small role you've played in getting us this far.

Finally, just a quick reminder that we have pages on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, so feel free to follow us wherever is convenient. We're going to start posting more on each of those soon. And if you don't already have a subscription, you can sign up for that here.