After being tossed to the curb by struggling retail chain GameStop last year, long-running gaming magazine Game Informer has been revived.
Last August, the entire Game Informer staff was laid off in the middle of producing the magazine's next issue, and years of online coverage were wiped from the web. The now nearly 34-year-old magazine, which for many in the US was their first source of gaming news and reviews, appeared to be toast.
Today, however, the Game Informer website reappeared along with the old articles, and a letter from editor-in-chief Matt Miller reveals that not only will the print magazine also return, every employee who was laid off has come back to work on it.
"The entire team that was working together at Game Informer's closure has returned, from editorial to production and beyond," wrote Miller, who first joined Game Informer himself back in 2004. "The entire team. Seriously—I'm still pinching myself."
The surprise resurrection has been financed by Game Informer's new owner, Gunzilla, a game developer co-founded by film director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), former Warface lead Alex Zoll, and fintech entrepreneur Vlad Korolov.
Gunzilla's first game is a free-to-play shooter called Off The Grid. The company is also in the blockchain business: Its blockchain platform, called GUNZ, "empowers game developers with the tools to build player-driven economies by providing players full ownership of in-game assets as tradeable NFTs," Gunzilla said last year.
The new Game Informer owner says that the magazine will have editorial independence.
"In its return, Game Informer remains completely editorially independent and launches with fresh vigour in its commitment to delivering the latest news, reviews, and insights from the ever-evolving world of gaming," the studio stated.
"I am deeply grateful for the trust and enthusiasm from the team at Gunzilla Games; they see the same potential in Game Informer as our team does, and their encouragement to do so ethically and free of outside pressure is laudable," wrote Miller.
Aside from restoring the old web articles, the revived Game Informer has published new reviews of games released while it was in limbo, and registering for an account with the site (old accounts are gone) gives users access to digital copies of "more than a decade of past Game Informer magazine issues."
The publishing of new print issues will resume sometime in the near future.
"Our intent is to bring back the magazine bigger and better than it was before," wrote Miller, "and add a host of membership and subscription benefits, including an expanded scope to our videos, streaming, and feature coverage, while also broadening the range of experts and partnerships we tap to bring you those perspectives."
