Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
James Bordeaux was a 23-year-old in Kentucky, playing EA Sports College Football 27 for a living. Then Electronic Arts — the $50-billion mega-developer backed by the Saudis and Jared Kushner's private-equity firm — tried to extract so-called "microtransactions" from inside his beloved video game. So the furious creator put his mouth where his money is: leading the type of organic, populist revolt that has become all too uncommon in American life. Bordeaux explains to Pablo Torre how fans won a battle... but why consumers may never win the war.
• Previously on PTFO — How Microtransactions (Almost) Ruined Gaming, with Dan Soder: youtube.com/watch?v=h9vEednqNb0
• Subscribe to Pablo's newsletter for exclusive access, documents and invites:
https://www.pablo.show/
• Follow Bordeaux on YouTube: youtube.com/@BordeauxYT
James Bordeaux was a 23-year-old in Kentucky, playing EA Sports College Football 27 for a living. Then Electronic Arts — the $50-billion mega-developer backed by the Saudis and Jared Kushner's private-equity firm — tried to extract so-called "microtransactions" from inside his beloved video game. So the furious creator put his mouth where his money is: leading the type of organic, populist revolt that has become all too uncommon in American life. Bordeaux explains to Pablo Torre how fans won a battle... but why consumers may never win the war.
• Previously on PTFO — How Microtransactions (Almost) Ruined Gaming, with Dan Soder: youtube.com/watch?v=h9vEednqNb0
• Subscribe to Pablo's newsletter for exclusive access, documents and invites:
https://www.pablo.show/
• Follow Bordeaux on YouTube: youtube.com/@BordeauxYT










