The Kyusai team has combined decades of experience covering gaming, tech, and esports at the highest level. They’ve brought their expertise over to the hottest new start-up in the game.
Kyusai team in 2026 – Everyone you’ll read here
Aleksha
McLoughlin
Editor-in-Chief
Aleksha.mcloughlin@kyusaimedia.com
Aleksha McLoughlin is Editor-in-Chief at Kyusai and brings more than a decade of experience to the role. She primarily looks after the News and Tech sections of the site.
She has a storied history of running some of the largest gaming, tech, and esports sites online. Her previous roles include Managing Editor of Esports Insider and The Escapist, Hardware Editor at TechRadar and GamesRadar, E-commerce Editor at Dexerto, and more.
Josie
Clark
Esports Editor
Josie.clark@kyusaimedia.com
Josie Clark is Esports Editor at Kyusai and an IT Cloud Technical Manager. She brings over experience from Esports Insider and The Escapist.
She is a former semi-professional CS player and has over a decade of experience in the competitive scene, playing online and LAN tournaments across multiple versions of Counter-Strike and VALORANT.
Em
Stonham
Social Lead
Em.stonham@kyusaimedia.com
Em Stonham is Kyusai’s Social Lead, working on both features and social media content. Based in the UK, they have bylines at The Escapist, Dot Esports, and IGN covering everything from competitive Pokémon, and World of Warcraft to grotesque horror and indie gems.
Particularly, Em loves indie horror and will never pass up an opportunity to tell you to play ROUTINE. When they’re not achievement hunting, you can find them mount-hunting in WoW or spending unreasonable amounts of money on shiny cardboard.
Sam
Smith
Senior Features Writer
Sam Smith is a Senior Features Writer with a wealth of experience, having served as a senior writer (or editor) at The Escapist, Dexerto, and Soundsphere Magazine.
He is the self-appointed “Elden Lord” of Soulslike games and is utterly obsessed with all things survival horror.
Bilawal
Bashir
Senior Features Writer
Bilawal Bashir loves video games and consumer tech. With a background in software engineering and video game design, he knows what makes things tick.
He is passionate about Western RPGs and open-world games, and is a professional pineapple-pizza hater. As well as Kyusai, you’ll also find his work at The Escapist, Esports Insider, and Slashgear, and more.
Em
Flint
Senior Features Writer
Em.flint@kyusaimedia.com
Em Flint is a seasoned writer and journalist with over 13 years of experience, having written for The Guardian, WIRED, BBC, Radio Times, TechRadar, and countless others. As one of Kyusai’s senior writers, she only crafts unique, high-quality features free of filler.
Dubbed the “Cozy Tzar” by the Kyusai team, Em is always searching for the next wholesome adventure to obsess over. Being a creature of habit, you’ll often find her farming or crafting in-game, or starting yet another playthrough of Dragon Age.
