Following GameStop’s sudden announcement that it would be shutting down Game Informer after 33 years — which includes GameStop making all of the work on Game Informer’s website disappear and reportedly laying off the entire staff — people across the video game industry are sharing their tributes to the gaming magazine.
“As someone who grew up poring over each issue, it was such a thrill and an honor to see our games grace Game Informer,” said Neil Druckmann, head of creative at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog and an executive producer on the hit HBO show. “Sad that such a staple of our industry is now gone. Good luck to everyone involved. Your work will be missed.”
Many are reminiscing about Game Informer’s excellent covers, which often had beautiful, custom art. Kit Ellis, who worked at Nintendo for more than 13 years in marketing and PR, highlighted how the Game Informer team pushed Nintendo to make amazing art for this The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cover:
“I remember how excited we were to get this cover ahead of The Witcher 3 launch,” said Michał Nowakowski, the joint CEO of CD Project Red. “Game Informer was there in the very early days of the industry and it is hard to imagine this will be no more.”
Radek Grabowski, CD Projekt Red’s global PR director, also highlighted great covers for Borderlands and Fortnite. “This is video game preservation, which deserves recognition,” Grabowski said.
Current and former staffers are expressing their sadness, too.
GameStop didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Below, we’ve embedded a video interview from 2016 with former Game Informer lead editors McNamara and Reiner about the origins of the magazine.