Several groups are currently trying to preserve the history of Game Informer after its closure.
On Friday, it was announced that the magazine, which was founded in 1991 and was once the nation's largest-circulation publication, would be shutting down. This would mean more than a dozen employees losing their jobs and years of writing and video content would be at risk.
The publication's website currently redirects to a single landing page where decades of content are no longer accessible, and there is no word from parent company GameStop on whether the site will ever be available again.
Game Informer's X-Account has since been deleted after a former employee, who apparently still had access to the account, used it to say a “sincere farewell” to the publication.
Several groups have now begun preserving the publication's history. One of the leading groups is MinnMax, founded by former Game Informer video producer Ben Hanson.
Following the announcement of Game Informer's closure, the MinnMax Discord group quickly evolved into a de facto preservation initiative, with fans sharing scans of issues and copies of online content that never made it into print.
Speaking to Game File, Hanson said he filmed a documentary about the publication in 2019 and hopes to release it soon. This week, MinnMax released a video shot earlier this year in which Hanson, along with his former Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert, Leo Vader and Alex Van Aken, toured the publication's final offices.
A former employee told Game File: “The closure of the site is a huge blow to the important conservation work and I hope GameStop reconsiders its decision.”
“The sudden closure of the website and magazine last week destroyed a rich archive of video game history, including thousands of news items, game reviews, interviews, original reports and exclusive cover stories that documented the creation of countless games – including spectacular cancellations like StarCraft: Ghost and Rainbow 6: Patriots.”