‘POV’ In Honor of Pride Month, Presents a Gamer’s Story of Rebirth, Self-Discovery, and Human Connection in the World of Online Gaming in Break the Game

POV, the multi-Emmy® and Peabody award-winning documentary series, presents the personal online gaming documentary Break the Game, marking the feature debut of writer/director/producer Jane M. Wagner. The documentary will make its national broadcast premiere during Pride Month on POV Monday, June 30, 2025 at 10pm (check local listings) on PBS Television, and will be available to stream until July 30, 2025 at pbs.org, and the PBS App.

Break the Game follows World Record holding gamer Narcissa Wright, who, after coming out as trans, loses a chunk of her massive fanbase. In hopes of recapturing her fame, she begins a quest to be the world’s fastest Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild player, despite being the target of cyberbullying. The moving documentary chronicles Narcissa’s rise and fall and rise, explores online gamer culture, the realities of online harassment, and the mental health implications of living a digital life.

In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real-time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

Video games and the community around them have meant everything to Narcissa. Her pursuit to set speedrun records in numerous game titles allowed her to command stages worldwide, becoming one of the most renowned gamers of all time. As much as she loves the challenge of conquering virtual worlds, living alone in her apartment and having no face-to-face human interaction, her isolated digital existence begins to crack. While Narcissa struggles with her crisis of self-worth and public validation, transphobia and hate, she must decide if she will embrace love and build a fulfilling life in the real world or if she will be seduced again by the volatile nature of internet fandom.

Jane M. Wagner’s Break the Game takes viewers on an emotionally arresting journey through Narcissa’s innermost thoughts, showcasing the duality of a passionate and compulsive video game streamer. Drawing from an archive of more than 3,000 hours of Narcissa’s live streams, intimate vérité footage, and 8-bit animation, Break the Game reveals the fine line between support and dependency. Wagner forces audiences to consider the consequences of connecting solely through digital realities and the importance of human friendship.

“Break the Game has the opportunity to help destigmatize anxiety and depression in virtual and queer spaces – particularly in online gaming and streaming cultures,” said Jane M. Wagner, director, Break the Game. The film is also a resource for those feeling isolated, anxious, or depressed. I want them to know they are not alone and where to seek help. After viewers see the film, I hope they will feel empowered to speak up when they see fellow streamers being harassed online. There’s truth to the famous Zelda slogan ‘It’s dangerous to go alone.’”

“Jane Wagner’s film is vividly told and is a sharp, compassionate exploration about the darker side of online gamer culture,” said Chris White, Executive Producer, POV. “Break the Game reveals how quickly the ‘cult of personality’ both rises and falls in this digital sphere, affecting the mental health of individuals - like Narcissa - who endure toxic online harassment. Jane’s film takes us through the lived realities of the internet fandom experience and demonstrates how the yearning for connection and love is an essential part of our humanity. We are proud to share Break the Game with viewers across the country and hope it will inspire empathy, and serve as a springboard towards greater understanding of how online harassment affects mental health.”

Break the Game made its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival winning Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director. The film has been screened worldwide and was an official selection at the 2023 Mental Health Film Festival Singapore, the 2023 Festival dei Popoli, the 2023 Outfest LA Film Festival, the 2023 Philadelphia Film Festival, and many more.

“As gaming becomes a more and more prominent aspect of modern-day youth culture, documentaries like Break the Game offer the human side of an ever-growing ecosystem too often reduced to pixels and memes”

–Eric Kohn, Indiewire

Break the Game is a Radiant Zigzag Productions film. Jane M. Wagner is the director, producer and writer. Narcissa Wright, Justin Lee Stanley and Jane M. Wagner are the cinematographers, and Jane M. Wagner, Nina Sacharow and Stephanie Andreou are the editors. Animation is by Patrick Ackerman and Emily Wolver, and the composers are Jeffrey Brodsky and Jesse Novak.

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