Disclaimer: The author of this article previously wrote two reviews for Game Informer as a freelancer.
Today, it was announced on Twitter that GameStop is shutting down the monthly videogame magazine Game Informer. The outlet was the longest-running gaming magazine in the U.S. and one of the last major gaming magazines in circulation. It offered reviews, previews, essays, and interviews that dived into the industry and culture surrounding it. The social media post announcing the closure, which apparently wasn’t written by editorial staff, reads as follows:
“After 33 thrilling years of bringing you the latest news, reviews, and insights from the ever-evolving world of gaming, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Game Informer.
From the early days of pixelated adventures to today’s immersive virtual realms, we’ve been honored to share this incredible journey with you, our loyal readers. While our presses may stop, the passion for gaming that we’ve cultivated together will continue to live on.
Thank you for being part of our epic quest, and may your own gaming adventures never end.”
The Final Level: Farewell from Game Informer 🕹️ pic.twitter.com/tmrEB2TE7U
— Game Informer (@gameinformer) August 2, 2024
According to reporting at Kotaku, the staff was informed on Friday by GameStop’s VP of HR that they were all laid off and that the outlet was being closed immediately. Last month’s 367th issue, which had a cover story for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, will be the final edition.
Members of the outlet’s already heavily trimmed staff left their thoughts on social media about the sudden news. “I love you all so much. Thank you for reading our work over the last 33 years. I didn’t know this would be my Friday when I woke up this morning. My heart is broken,” wrote Brian Shea, their former online content director.
Alex Van Aken, their head of Video, posted, “My 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. Lmao.”
“I’m furious about the end of Game Informer. It was an incredible 33-year run and then GameStop pumps out this phony/empty farewell message. I’d bet money it was written by AI. Fuck you, GameStop and a huge fuck you to Ryan Cohen,” wrote Ben Hansen, a former video producer at Game Informer and the founder of MinnMax.
Game Informer was founded in August 1991 as an in-house newsletter for the Minneapolis-based video game retailer FuncoLand. Eventually, GameStop acquired FuncoLand and began to push the outlet heavily (something anyone who visited the retailer during the aughts will likely remember). As recently as June 2017, it was the 5th most circulated magazine in the U.S. However, with the rise of digital distribution platforms and the general decline of retail stores, GameStop began to struggle. Eventually, they cut Game Informer’s staff, laying off nearly half its employees in August 2019, creating an exodus that resulted in the MinnMax podcast. After the departure of Andy McNamara, the outlet’s long-time editor-in-chief and founder, there were more layoffs in 2022. Despite the downturn, Game Informer recently introduced a new print subscription in March 2024 that was sold directly to readers instead of through GameStop, seemingly at least slightly untethering the publication from their corporate owner’s fate. A few months later, though, it was shut down with little warning.
While the media space, and traditional games coverage in particular, is in the middle of a long-term downward spiral further exacerbated by recent elevated interest rates, the call to shutter the magazine was ultimately one made by GameStop’s higher-ups. The company’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, is by all accounts an insufferable blowhard billionaire with pro-Trump brain rot who is currently being sued for insider trading. While it’s impossible to know how things would have gone if the outlet wasn’t tied to a sinking ship, the folks at GI did good work to the last.