Game Informer, one of the last remaining physical video game magazines, has shut down after more than three decades in business.
“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,” a Friday statement on the magazine’s website reads. “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.”
Game Informer, which first began publishing in 1991 under video game retailer FuncoLand, was acquired by GameStop in 2000. It circulated 8 million copies at the height of its popularity in 2011 and was included in GameStop’s Power Up Rewards membership program. However, by 2017, copies in circulation fell to 7 million and, in 2019, GameStop laid off about half of the magazine’s staff. In March, Game Informer launched its own standalone subscription, separate from the Power Up Rewards program.
According to Kotaku, the magazine’s staffers were called into a meeting on Friday with GameStop’s vice president of human resources, where they were told about the closure of Game Informer, laid off and told they would begin receiving severance. Sources told the publication that the public statement released was not written by anyone on the Game Informer team.
The meeting came after GameStop chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen sent the entire staff an email in September calling for “extreme frugality,” adding that the company’s mission is to “operate hyper efficiently and profitably” and that it has “no use for delegators and money wasters.”
“I expect everyone to roll up their sleeves and work hard,” he added. “I’m not getting paid, so I’m either going down with the ship or turning the company around. I much prefer the latter.”
On Twitter, former Game Informer content director Kyle Hilliard called the closure a “frustrating turn of events,” while adding that the team was about 70% done with the magazine’s next issue.
Former video producer Ben Hanson said he was “furious” about the move.
“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. F–k you, GameStop and a huge f–k you to Ryan Cohen,” he wrote.
Longtime editor-in-chief Andy McNamara, who left Game Informer in 2020 for a job at Electronic Arts, said: “As someone who was there at issue one and spent most of their life fighting and scratching and clawing for GI, it breaks my heart to see it end. GI will always hold a special place in my heart. As always, the people are who matter. What an amazing journey for us all. GI4ever.”
June’s Game Informer magazine about “Dragon Age: The Veilguard” is the publication’s 367th and final issue. It’s unclear if the company will issue refunds for existing subscriptions.
Representatives for GameStop did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
