The largest video game database online, Giant Bomb is facing an uncertain future as many prominent members of staff have departed from the company. The website, known for its news, reviews, videos, and forums about all things gaming, seems to be going through a restructuring period that is leaving many fans worried what this will mean for the popular site going forward.
According to the website’s owner Fandom, the website will be undergoing a “strategic reset and realignment” which comes as an update after the website suddenly stopped livestreaming content last month. Not only that, but earlier this week the 888th episode of one of the longest-running video game centric podcasts in history, the Giant Bombcast, was published and then quickly taken down.
This particular episode of the podcast included a long segment where the hosts mocked the overreaching brand guidelines given to the website by its current owner, Fandom. The guidelines that were mocked included rules on swearing in content as well as other restrictions that would cause a dramatic shift in the style of content that Giant Bomb had previously built its following and reputation on, which is what lead the cast to their mockery.
Long-time staff member and contributor Dan Ryckert spoke on the problems facing the site during a recent stream on Wednesday, where he announced that he would never be appearing on Giant Bomb again, as the direction that owner Fandom was taking the company was not one he would like to follow them on.
On the same stream Ryckert mentioned that though he would be leaving Giant Bomb, he would continue doing “what he loves” in the future, so for fans of Dan it would seem that he won’t be entirely absent of an online presence, just no longer present on Giant Bomb.
Giant Bomb staff member Jeff Grubb also confirmed he would be departing the company stating, “Well, that was a dream come true. Knew it wouldn’t last, though. Out of a job at the moment. But I’ll always be doing patreon.com/gamemess.”
Recently he shared a post on his patreon that made it clear the fans were continuing to show support, and though many in the comments seemed gutted by the departures of the creators they had enjoyed for so long, they remain excited to see where this will take them next.
In a response to Jeff Grubb’s statement of departure, staff member Mike Minotti also confirmed on his socials that he would no longer be contributing to Giant Bomb in the future, stating:
“Needless to say I will no longer be contributing to Giant Bomb. Nothing but love to all the wonderful people from there and GameSpot. Jeff was a workhorse and a hero for the way he shouldered so much responsibility there, and I am furious with the way execs treated him. We aren’t going anywhere.”
With so many staff members departing the website, many fans have been angry, saddened, and fearful for the future of the brand, as it is all seemingly up in the air at the moment. Giant Bomb owner Fandom responded to this uncertainty stating:
“As you know, we’ve temporarily paused Giant Bomb live streaming and that content is currently available on demand for our audience,” “We understand this programming pause isn’t ideal for our audience, but it’s part of a strategic reset and realignment of our media brands. We have some creative ideas for the future of Giant Bomb that we’re actively working on that we’ll be able to communicate more about soon.”
Back in the Summer of 2022, the last remaining founder of Giant Bomb, Jeff Gerstmann left the website. He later confirmed on his podcast that he was fired, but had planned to leave the company prior to his termination. In October of that same year, Giant Bomb was acquired by Fandom. Not long after the acquisition by Fandom, two Giant Bomb staffers, including long-time producer Jason Oestreicher, were let go.
This seemed to mark a notable moment for the website’s decline and staff member frustrations as their new owner was laying off their coworkers, changing the rules, and providing strict guidelines that would fundamentally change the style and quality of content that got the site to where it is today.
Fans were clever enough to archive Giant Bomb’s entire library of premium content, as many have anticipated the total closure of the website for quite a while now and didn’t want to lose access to the content they have enjoyed for years. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
