In November 2004, an anonymous blog post from a spouse whose husband worked for the publisher, Electronic Arts, brought to light the harsh overtime working conditions that some were experiencing working under EA. It provoked a chain reaction that spawned lawsuits, changes in the industry, and a backlash of anger towards EA.

Now Mercury News has the true identity of the EA Spouse, and reveals more details about the incident and how it changed working conditions almost overnight.

So Hoffman, then 23, poured out her frustration — under the pen name EA Spouse — in a November 2004 blog that resonated so strongly with other video game developers that it helped spark an employee uprising inside EA and six lawsuits for unpaid overtime against three of the industry’s most prominent employers.

The result of all of this is GameWatch.org, a site where developers can go to swap stories about the companies they work for.