Earlier today, retailer GameStop announced that it was shutting down the long-running magazine Game Informer which launched back in 1991. As you might expect, many people across the video game industry, as well as fans, content creators, critics, and journalists, were shocked by the news.
Game Informer launched 33 years ago in August 1991. It started at video game retailer Funcoland as an in-house newsletter and grew into a large magazine. In 2000, GameStop bought Funcoland and Game Informer grew into an even bigger magazine. It was heavily advertised in-store as a perk for signing up for the retailerās rewards program. For the past 15 years, Game Informer also expanded its online presence and website. But now, thatās all coming to a close. On August 2, Game Informer confirmed that it was shutting down. Kotaku also learned that all staff had been laid off during a meeting on Friday with no warning.
Former and current GI staff react to the news
Almost immediately after the news broke, former and current staff shared their frustrations about the situation, the magazineās parent company, and mourned the sudden loss of Game Informer.
āGame Informer was incredibly important to me both as a fan and employee,ā posted former staff member Jason Oestreicher. āIts closing is terribly upsetting and my heart goes out to those who worked there till the wheels came off.ā
āGame Informer has been closed down by GameStop and the entire, incredibly talented staff (including myself) have all been laid off,ā said Kyle Hilliard, GIās content director. āA frustrating turn of events (especially considering we were about 70% done with the next issue and it was going to have a GREAT cover).
āThis is the worst fucking timeline and fuck GameStop,ā posted Imran Khan, a former senior editor at the magazine. āThe industry is worse off without GI and that stupid piece of shit company thatās been flying by its pants off meme stocks couldnāt stand to see a part of it be successful without their direct intervention.ā
The Final Level: Farewell from Game Informer š¹ļø pic.twitter.com/tmrEB2TE7U
— Game Informer (@gameinformer) August 2, 2024
āItās really hard to put into words how sad I am,ā shared former features editor Matt Helgeson. āThis place was more than a job, I really grew up there from a college kid, went all around the world, met so many amazing people, and worked with the best colleagues anyone could ever ask for. Canāt believe itās all gone.ā
āHeartbroken and angry,ā said former GI editor-in-chief Andrew Reiner. āMost of my adult life was spent at Game Informer. All day, Iāve been remembering amazing moments I had with the teamāsome of the most talented and kindhearted people Iāve ever met and was lucky enough to work with. End of an era, but GI forever!
āMy wife and I JUST made it through four months of her unemployment and I was looking forward to stopping my 70-hour work weeks and have been winding down my freelance projects,ā said current staff member Alex Van Aken
The game industry and media react to Game Informer closing
It wasnāt just former and current Game Informer staff reacting to the closure of the long-running magazine on Friday. Many folks, including devs, critics, writers, journalists, and others shared their thoughts about the horrible news as Game Informer had become a pillar in the industry and was seen by many as something that would always be around.
This is heartbreaking.
All the best to the crew. You did great work. And the folks past and present should be proud, GI was an institution. https://t.co/xbdQ0GuMRK
— Tamoor Hussain (@tamoorh) August 2, 2024
Really unfortunate. A lot of terrific talent made their way through the GI ranks over the years.
We need more games reporting these days, not less. https://t.co/qnxQ2Tjb73
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) August 2, 2024
Game Informer news is devastating:
It was a window into a wider world and culture around games. It showed that other people cared about them as much as I did
And GameStop insisted on killing that legacy and laying off the staff instead of doing literally anything else with it pic.twitter.com/nmt9iuRS6b
— AmericanTruckSongs9 (@ethangach) August 2, 2024
Iāll never forget reading their coverage on RE4 and being blown away. Itās an unfortunate day. It almost feels like the games industry of old is evaporating. RIP Game Informer. https://t.co/HYtPGHizTB pic.twitter.com/SPGfegQ8Iu
— Suzi Hunter (@TheSphereHunter) August 2, 2024
After 33 years, Game Informer magazine will immediately cease publication and the staff has been laid off by GameStop, it's owner.
The team at GI contributed so much to the gaming industry over the years. pic.twitter.com/p3LIsHTYCm
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 2, 2024
This is terribly sad, not just because of the history as one of the oldest surviving mags but because of the incredible talent it has produced, and because it happened to be based in my hometown. Deepest condolences to all the great folks who worked at GI. https://t.co/10pXNcnqFm
— Kat Bailey (@The_Katbot) August 2, 2024
I donāt think people fully understand how miserable a world without games journalists would be for game developers. Itās wild to see this giant black hole building in front of your eyes (decline of viable paid outreach, decline of organic – or otherwise – press outreach).
— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) August 2, 2024
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1819400956947452153
How to read old Game Informer magazines in 2024
Itās truly the end of an era and itās frustrating to watch yet another important video game media outlet die because its owners mismanaged it. The talented staff at Game Informer deserved better and I hope they all find work and happiness soon.
I know Iāll be pulling out some old Game Informer magazines I have stored around here somewhere in my basement and flipping through them later tonight.
For those who no longer have access to their old copies of Game Informer, you can find many back issues lovingly preserved on the Internet Archive. There is also a Game Informer archival project happening in MinnMaxās Discord, too.
There's a Game Informer archival project happening in MinnMax's Discord at the moment. Jump in if you feel like being helpful and preserving some history.
— MinnMax (@MinnMaxShow) August 2, 2024
