Colin Moriarty leaving the successful startup the ‘four best friends’ started just over two years ago comes as a shock to many, but the writing had been on the wall for some time now, long before his controversial tweet.

Many point to Colin’s right-leaning politics being opposed to the lefty San Fran vibe of the rest of the team, but there were many other signs that pointed his way out.

For a time, I was a regular listener of their gaming podcast and more specifically their Sony-based coverage PS I Love You XO XO. I enjoyed Colin’s deep knowledge, eloquent insights, and bold opinions whether agreed with or not. When Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida appeared on their show, he specifically praised Colin’s knowledge of Playstation gaming and 1st/2nd/3rd-party developers. Take Sony’s President praising a Sony-centric podcast host with a grain of salt, but it should be noted he said nothing similar to Greg Miller.

Interests outside of gaming

Colin Moriarty mentioned many times he felt the pull to other hobbies and passions. He had always mentioned politics as one of the biggest passions in his life, but even Chess was brought up as a hobby he wished to pour more time into. When even a single game can easily consume 40+ hours, the pressure to stay on top of current releases (and Platinum many games) must have been a daunting task.

His appearance on Dave Rubin’s political show is only the natural evolution of his expressed desire to pursue interests outside of games.

Kinda Funny Live

Kinda Funny quickly branched out from internet-content to live performance with their Kinda Funny Live shows. Colin did participate and performed admirably well, but had previously expressed his anxiety towards public events, even staying home from a different public event. His co-founders Greg Miller and Tim Gettys however, thrived in the spotlight, even hosting Square’s Final Fantasy XV event.

Breaks from Gaming

Sometime before the release of PSVR, Colin had addressed a temporary break from gaming and general lack of interest. For most gamers, breaks from the medium are normal, but again, the pressure of covering the industry to that degree highlights any time spent away from completing games and staying current.

It speaks to the produce-all-the-time approach seen on Youtube and Twitch. Creators are pushed to their limits because they feel a pressure to provide a fickle audience with fresh content that is instantly devoured, usually for free. This pressure is so high that a simple two-week break from gaming is deemed important enough to discuss, on their gaming show.

Politics

Many of Colin’s political viewpoints skewed further to the right of his co-founders, and especially their adopted city of San Francisco. I feel a round-table discussion is more interesting and valid when opposing viewpoints are debated, but the reaction of Miller and Gettys to Colin’s controversial tweet made it clear they were moving in separate directions. Also, Greg posting “we’ve been moving in two directions for a long time.” made it even clearer.

Love him or hate him, Colin Moriarty was well-spoken, bold, and a deep well of gaming knowledge. Talking about games for a living can easily devolve into a hype-fest of praise, but he retained integrity and insightful criticism throughout.

Good luck in the next phase.