An interview with Just Stop Oil about protest, playfulness and invading EGX

At EGX earlier this month, climate change protestors cosplaying as the Ghostbusters interrupted a Tekken 7 tournament, spraying player screens with orange paint and attempting to make a speech before being hauled off by security. The three protestors, who were later arrested, are members of Just Stop Oil, a British activist group officially founded in February 2022 who carry out acts of nonviolent obstruction and vandalism in the hope of rallying support against the UK government granting new fossil fuel licenses and production agreements. In the case of EGX, which is run by Rock Paper Shotgun's parent company Reedpop, Just Stop Oil were protesting against the sponsorship of one EGX stage by Barclays Bank, who have financed billions of dollars of fossil fuel investments (Barclays have provided some official comment down the page). They were also trying to call attention to oil giant Shell's sponsorship deal with Fortnite, which includes a special themed map "powered by Shell V-Power(r) NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline".

I've written a bit here and there about the overlap between games, video games and protest movements. I've also been on a JSO protest march myself - albeit, slightly by accident (no, I didn't glue myself to anything). I was curious to hear more about the EGX protest, and specifically, whether the group's tactical use of cosplay for both dramatic effect and subterfuge represents any broader understanding of games as a form of protest art. JSO put me in touch with Oliver Clegg, a 20-year-old student who joined the group early on and has participated in some of their better-known direct actions. The below is a transcript of that conversation which has been edited down for length and clarity.

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