Disabled, Unemployed, and Fighting to Stay Afloat

Hello, friends.

I’m Victor Wachter. For more than 20 years, I worked as a Community Manager in the video game and tech industries. I helped bring to life the worlds of EverQuest, PlanetSide, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Star Trek Online, Dragon Age, Cartoon Network, and Kongregate Games.

But today, I’m not here to promote a game, I’m here to ask for your help to keep my home.

A Life in Gaming

I’ve spent my career helping gamers get the most out of the worlds they love: solving problems, sharing gameplay tips, and working with modders and content creators to make each game better.

Over time, I had the chance to interview with studios like Blizzard, Riot, and Epic, but I was always happy where I was, working on franchises I loved, like Star Trek, D&D, and Cartoon Network shows. Maybe they weren’t the most lucrative, but they brought me satisfaction, and that mattered more.

Health Challenges and Hard Choices

In 2014, I lost 150 pounds and started reclaiming my health. But persistent ankle pain made even walking feel like electric shock. I had surgery to fix it, then got laid off during recovery and lost my health insurance. No follow-up care. No physical therapy. My progress stalled.

Eventually, I moved back to Iowa to be close to family and help care for my dad in his final years. In 2022, I bought my first house. Two weeks later, I was laid off again.

Caught in a Crash

That layoff hit just as the post-COVID return-to-office mandates and massive game industry cuts began. It’s now so bad, there’s a Wikipedia article tracking the 2023–2024 layoffs. I was one of them.

I’ve been job hunting for over 500 days. But remote roles are scarce, and I can’t move to LA, SF, or NYC—not with my chronic leg pain. I need my support system nearby.

️ Disability in Limbo

I can’t stand for more than 20 minutes. Just grocery shopping is exhausting. Retail work is out of the question.

So I applied for Social Security Disability. That was 8 months ago. My application is still pending, stuck in a backlog caused by deep staffing cuts. I’m now less than two months away from losing my home.

️ Sharing My Voice

I don’t just want to ask for help—I want to give back.

I’m launching a YouTube channel to talk about:

As a Community Manager, all I really know how to do is talk to people online. A YouTube channel is the best way I know to contribute, and stay connected.

I hope you’ll join me there. I’ll post often, both to share my story and to keep this campaign visible.

How You Can Help

Every donation helps cover:

If you can’t give financially, sharing this campaign means the world. Your support, financial or emotional, helps keep me going.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for believing. And thank you for helping me stay on my feet, figuratively, at least.

—Victor