Game Informer Is Gone. What Does That Mean for Games Media?

Real Time Strategy

GameStop shut down Game Informer last week, laying off its staff and unceremoniously ending the best-known gaming magazine in the U.S. Sam and Kaitlyn discuss what the publication’s closure means for games media, why it happened, and how games PR should react. Then they discuss another gutting layoff story—Bungie cutting its staff by 17%—before ending on a positive note with a discussion about Polygon’s music-focused FM column and their favorite gaming soundtracks.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:00 – GameStop Shuts Down Game Informer

00:19:11 – What Does GI’s Closure Mean for PR?

00:26:49 – Bungie Lays Off 220 Employees, or 17% of Staff

00:42:51 – Read of the Week (Polygon FM and our favorite video game soundtracks)

01:00:23 – Outro

Stories/media discussed:

Porter Robinson – Smile! :D

Kotaku – GameStop Shuts Down Game Informer, The Longest-Running Gaming Magazine In The US

The Verge – Bungie is laying off 220 employees and moving others to PlayStation

IGN – Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover

Game File – Bungie's deep job cuts were in the works prior to Destiny's most recent release, sources say

Bloomberg – Sony’s Bungie Faces Reckoning After Mass Layoff

Polygon – Polygon FM

Polygon – When the soundtrack is better than the game, we all benefit

For physical game publications, support Patch and Lost in Cult.

Follow the podcast on Twitter and YouTube @RealTimeStrats, and email us questions at [email protected]. Follow Kaitlyn and Sam on social media @KaitlynRedWing and @SamScotMosher respectively.