It seems like 2024 has been a year full of many unexpected surprises in relation to gaming news. The news regarding GameStop’s decision to shut down Game Informer a publication that has been around for more than three decades comes has a surprise to many people. However, the decision made by GameStop to shut down their beloved publication is something that does not surprise many gaming insiders. It was reported not too long ago that GameStop’s stock has recently plunged similar to that Nintendo’s following their first-quarter annual report. It has been reported by CBS News that GameStop had lost more than $32 million back in June 2024. GameStop has been dealing with some hard times due to a dramatic decrease in sales. In fact, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started back in 2020 GameStop has been forced to close down at least 3,500 stores worldwide. While COVID-19 has definitely harmed GameStop’s business ecommerce businesses like eBay, Shopify and others has become more popular. When it comes down to gaming publications things a very competitive and its possible that GameStop does not want to poor any more funds into Game Informer. Its quite possible that GameStop is considering liquidation in the future or maybe they are just cutting back on expenses due to first-quarter fiscal losses. Either way, Game Informer shutting down for good is considered to be a devastating loss for the gaming community since its been around dating back to 1991. The layoffs within the gaming industry whether it be gaming developers or publications are all apart of a more alarming trend in relation to the global economy. While A.I. threatens to take over more jobs across America and the rest of the world; thousands who work within the gaming industry could potentially struggle with making a living in the future. There are game developers, voice-actors and writers who can end up being replaced while the remaining ones are more likely to be subjected to more competitive work environments. Seeing that another SAG-AFTRA strike has recently started at Warner Bros. it seems like discontent from workers within the gaming industry is only going grow moving forward into 2025.