Image credit: Kyusai
It’s officially the spooky season as October is upon us, and no better time to reveal that Em Stonham, previously Kyusai’s Social Lead, has been promoted to Editor in Chief. They will be overseeing all the gaming, tech, and esports editorial from here on out, and have already begun to put a bloodied, red stamp on everything across the Lotus brand over the last few months.
Em Stonham has been an instrumental part of Kyusai from the very beginning. From our launch window back in February, through several different revisions and pivots into what is (objectively) the best and brightest period that we’ve experienced yet. Kyusai has gone from strength to strength over the last eight months; Stonham themselves consistently carried the beacon to usher in a new dawn.
That’s a fancy way of saying that without Stonham’s hard work and consistent dedication, Kyusai wouldn’t be the powerhouse platform that it is today. Some of their highlights over the last half a year include the stellar Resident Evil: Requiem review, leading the coverage of DreamHack Birmingham 2026, being boots on the ground for the showstopping Red Bull Wololo, and every time they managed to throw in another (deserved) mention of ROUTINE.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Em Stonham three times throughout my career, and I’ve seen them continue to grow and evolve from a writer to a senior writer, and now to taking pole position as Editor in Chief. There’s far more to Stonham than just living in the walls, forever skirting that thin red line between the cute and cozy and the horrific and frightening. I’m honored to say that I’ve been able to learn from them, to better my craft, and to see a burning passion for this industry in them, the likes of which I have never seen before.
As for the vision for the future of Kyusai, well, the Lotus is in the safest hands possible. You can be sure to expect more world-class storytelling across all our main verticals going forward, whether that’s an exclusive interview, a must-read Op-Ed, an in-depth review, or something completely unexpected; there’s no one else in this industry with the drive, knowledge, and expertise for gaming like Stonham, and I’m so excited to see the site enter its next bold chapter.
Welcome to the new and improved Kyusai
With Em Stonham now leading Kyusai as Editor in Chief, it also means that contributor Mars Evergreen will be stepping up as Social Lead. You’ll likely best know them for their shorts and long-form videos across the Kyusai YouTube channel and TikTok pages, and now they’re bringing their excellent gaming knowledge and unique, detailed insight to the wider platform as well. It’s been a joy to see just how far Mars has come in such a short span of time, seeing their confidence grow in videos and the quality of their writing continue to flourish at a lightning-fast rate. Recent must-reads from Evergreen include their unfortunate revisit to The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, their fears for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, and concerns over Kingdom Hearts 4‘s story.
As well as the change in leadership, Kyusai has also benefited from a suite of new features and quality-of-life improvements. It’s faster, much prettier, and now rocks a slick black and gold colorway. We’re always listening to the feedback we get and are looking at ways to ensure our audiences can have the best experience reading and watching what we put out from the Kyusai team.
As for me, I’ll still be heavily involved in the brand; however, the bulk of my efforts with the platform will be continuing to build up and operate Kyusai PR. Since we launched our own bespoke public relations service earlier this year, Managing Director Josie Clark and I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible game developers. It’s been a highlight of my career to help see smaller games reach new audiences, and that’s exactly what we founded the site to do in the first place. I’m looking forward to helping new clients break through the noise to get their games noticed.
