Archive: https://archive.is/2025.04.10-001341/https://aftermath.site/video-games-journalism-2025
We’ve (sadly) covered a lot of games media stories thatinvolve writers being laid off, sites being shuffled around and sometimes even whole companies shutting down. For Inside Baseball week, I figured it might be a good time to check in with some of the few people left still making a living in video games journalism.
I spoke with a number of writers and voices who are a) drawing a full-time salary writing or talking about video games, and b) are working at what I’d call a “major” site, the big ones with historical brands that are still in a position to be paying people decent wages. These folks are the lucky few survivors, those in jobs that a decade ago were relatively common but which today–thanks to the aforementioned layoffs and closures, not to mention other contractions like a growing reliance on freelance and guides– are increasingly scarce.
I asked a number of questions about their past, present and, perhaps most pressing, their immediate future, with their answers to each below. To protect their identities and jobs their names have been changed, and outlets omitted where requested. By way of introduction, I spoke with:
My issue with games journalism isn’t even with games journalism. Games just suck now. Specifically the big budget ones that don’t need any more press than they already pay for. There used to be a time when videogames were on track to be the next art form. I’m not saying they can’t be, or even that they aren’t already, it’s just that the artistically barren and often morally bankrupt juggernaut games are sucking up all the funding and the exposure. Games journalism has been reduced to “take a look at this game that isn’t complete trough slop” and the audience of gamers isn’t particularly receptive to that message. I wish there was more room for analysis and/or discussion, but it’s getting less sustainable every day.
I can’t remember the last time there was a well funded and appropriately successful game that had
artistic intentany sort of intentionality (before BG3)