Search  for anything...
Audible

Control Freak: My Epic Adventure Making Video Games

  • Based on 234 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for the best price...
$21.54 Why this price?

Buy Now, Pay Later

As low as $5 / mo
  • – 4-month term
  • – No impact on credit to apply
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout.

Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Zip, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Free shipping on this product

This item is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

Availability: 20 left in stock
Fulfilled by Audible,
Arrives Oct 4 – Oct 8
Order within 7 hours and 3 minutes
Available payment plans shown during checkout
Protection Plan Protect Your Purchase
Checking for protection plans...

Description

The designer of Unreal and Gears of War offers an eye-opening personal account of the video game industry as it grew from niche hobby to hundred-billion- dollar enterprise. Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who’ve reached mythical, rock star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business. Toiling away in his bedroom, Bleszinski created and shipped his first game before graduating high school, and at just seventeen joined a fledgling company called Epic Games. He describes the grueling hours, obscene amounts of Mountain Dew and obsessive focus necessary to achieve his singular creative visions. He details Epic’s rise to industry leader, thanks largely to his work on bestselling franchises Unreal and Gears of War (and, later, his input on a little game called Fortnite), as well as his own awkward ascent from shy, acne-riddled introvert to sports car-driving celebrity rubbing shoulders with Bill Gates. As he writes, “No one is weirder than a nerd with money.” While the book is laced with such self-deprecating humor, Bleszinski also bluntly addresses the challenges that have long-faced the gaming community, including sexism and a lack of representation among both designers and the characters they create. Control Freak is a hilarious, thoughtful, and inspiring memoir. Even if you don’t play games, you’ll walk away from this book recognizing them as a true art form and appreciating the genius of their creators. Read more

Listening Length: 9 hours and 24 minutes


Author: Cliff Bleszinski


Narrator: Kurt Kanazawa


Whispersync for Voice: Ready


Audible.com Release Date: November 01, 2022


Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio


Program Type: Audiobook


Version: Unabridged


Language: English


ASIN: B09TTQYR78


Best Sellers Rank: #153,094 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #665 in Video & Computer Games #741 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides #2,166 in Biographies of Celebrities & Entertainment Professionals


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Oct 4 – Oct 8

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Affirm Pay in 4
  • Affirm Financing
  • Afterpay Financing
  • Zip Pay in 4
  • Financing through Apple Pay
  • Financing through Google Pay
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Similar Products

Top Amazon Reviews

    • "Allegory of the cave" reality revealed. Read it now.
Format: Kindle
I could not put this book down. I read half of it in the first sitting, and lunchtime readings extended my lunches far too long. There are few books that reveal the pure ugly truths in their full glory. This is definitely one. (I can think of only one other: "One Jump Ahead" by Jonathan Schaeffer). It is a must read. It is refreshing. I am telling everyone to read it. I have made games since extreme youth in 1982, was part of the demo scene, coding assembly and machine language demos in VGA, and even had ongoing chats with Tim Sweeney to bring my high-framerate tech engines to Epic MegaGames despite being surrounded by a world of misunderstandings that preferred I "stopped playing games". Cliff is my age, thus I cannot help but view his story as an alternate universe version of my own, with far too similar struggles, spot on analysis of the industry, the same flawed conclusions of what gaming has become, though ultimately finding a path to success. It is an amazing story. P.S. I have to say, Mirage was my first, and most beloved, Transformer... and I loved Rad Racer. :) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024 by Jason Doucette
    • Phenomenal, Cover to Cover.
Format: Hardcover
I couldn't put this down. I read it from cover to cover in 2 days. Can't think of any other book that gives this honest a look at what goes on at major Game Studios. And it focuses on the important stuff of how AAA games get made. It contains some brutally honest (unflattering) details of his personal life, but it truly captures what it takes to design/create great games. Just a fascinating read, start to finish. It's a must read for all game-devs and/or aspiring game-devs. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2022 by Joseph J. Cassavaugh
    • A genuine and fascinating deep dive into a video games “da Vinci-type “
Format: Hardcover
This book was far more than I expected going in. I’ve been a huge fan of Cliff for ages. I remember him selling me on Unreal Championship for the OG Xbox on a G4 round-table by saying (paraphrasing) “with the headset on and the controller in your hand, it just IS Unreal.” He was not wrong. I had followed him on Twitter since close to its inception and understood his “off the cuff” nature of just his persona in general and expected more of the same from this book. That is not what this is. Cliff had written a genuinely complex analysis of his experiences of how making games for a living has also molded himself in a strange-yet-obvious way. The relationship between creation and his own personal story is symbolic. Negative impacts on one aspect manifests negative results on the other and vice versa. Cliff is also a far better writer than I had expected. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t expect a subpar book by any means. He managed to adapt to this type of writing environment far better than I had planned. Parts of the book read like a page turning thriller. Other parts tend to read with a lot of heartfelt emotion that got def didn’t expect going in from his “knee-jerk” public persona. This is a must read for anyone that has ever enjoyed a video game… even if none of those games were Cliffy B games. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2022 by Dee Stravinsky
    • A look inside
Format: Hardcover
If you grew up in the 90s or early 2000s in PC gaming, this is a great read that gives insight to the rise of Epic Games, their franchises, and the direction the studio took that ultimately culminated with Fortnite. On top of that it's a deeply personal story from Cliff not only about the decisions made along the way, but how each one of those builds upon the previous. There's a bit of personal info revealed as well - props for putting it all out there. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2022 by Nick Puleo
    • It’s pretty good.
Format: Kindle
It is pretty good but not great like Romero’s book. It loses a star because he couldn’t help himself and spouts off “orange man bad” and related silliness in spots. It is few and far between, but quite smug and cringey when it occurs. If you were at all into Unreal and UT back in the day though, his book is worth the money. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2023 by Amazon Customer
    • Great read if you love game development, or just love games!
Format: Hardcover
Loved this book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2025 by Brandon
    • An epic look at Epic times.
Format: Kindle
This book has heart and a great flow to it. It’s equal parts revealing, exciting, funny, and sad too. If you’re a fan of the games industry, games history, the creative process, Cliffy B, Gears, or 80’s & 90’s nostalgia, this book is 100% worth picking up.
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2022 by Matt Strnad
    • Should be more like, "Heat".
Format: Kindle
This would sell more if it were like the movie, "Heat".
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2023 by J. Hanna

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.
Checking for best price...