A Deleted Game Informer Is Now Redirecting To GameStop’s Closure Statement

GameStop abruptly shut down one of the more admired media outlets for video game journalism last week the day before, cutting off its entire staff. many being notified via a statement I’ve come to believe was created by AI.

Paul Tassi03/08/2024

Although it’s bad enough to cause you to lose your job, but what writers of the past and present discovered within a short time is the fact that Game Informer is not just closed, but that the entire website was erased off the web. Not only the homepage however, every single link to a Game Informer story in decades is now will redirectto an AI “Goodbye” message.

As as a writer, it’s difficult to grasp how devastation this can be for a writer, since it’s not a bad thing losing your job but being unable to reference your past work while you are trying to get a new one is a nightmare. This is not even counting losing thousands thousands of amazing articles over the years by an extremely important business outlet. The only reason that this seems to be logical is because GameStop is attempting to cut…hosting costs for the URL? It’s a plan being called by many “evil.”

This isn’t just affecting those who were recently laid off who run the website, but also the magazine were already reduced to a bare minimum by the layoffs prior to this. Anyone who ever published an article or contributed to Game Informer has seen those articles disappear. There’s probably no way to get them back for this via GameStop since they technically own the content, and they are not likely to turn off the light of pure hearts.

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Thus, there is a trend underway to conserve what could be preserved through online archives and other such sources, even though it’s a huge undertaking that could take many years to finish, considering the sheer volume of information we’re discussing here.

GameStop has yet to issue an announcement regarding Game Informer’s closing in a direct manner, merely posting an unsubstantiated “goodbye” message with no reason. I was able easily reproduce the text in ChatGPT with only minor changes to the language:

• The statement: “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.”
• ChatGPT“With sadness we announce the end of Game Informer after 33 remarkable years.”
• The statement: “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.”
• ChatGPT “Throughout the years, we have witnessed the evolution of the gaming industry, from the early days of 16-bit graphics to the stunning, immersive worlds of today.”
• The statement: “While our presses may stop, the passion for gaming that we’ve cultivated together will continue to live on.”
• ChatGPT “While Game Informer may be closing its doors, the memories and connections we have built will endure.”

If you continue to tell it to alter it, it shifts the words, but the structure remains identical. Gross. It’s been scanned through several AI detection websites They all conclude that it’s AI generated.

The demise of Game Informer is bad enough but the destruction of 30+ years of history at the click of a button is akin to committing treason and rerouting to an AI message can be a metaphor for the current state of the whole industry. I’d like to see someone accountable for this however at the moment I don’t know what the procedure is to achieve this.

I’ve contacted GameStop for updates and I’ll update the post if I get a response.

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