In August of 2002, Geoff Grotz and Brandon Jones founded GameTrailers, a gaming news and reviews site that had a focus on community with user blogs, forums, and a wide variety of video services. Now, thirteen and a half years later, GameTrailers is closing its doors. This closure follows a massive layoff in 2014, where nearly two-thirds of the staff were let go following Defy Media purchasing the site from Viacom. It appears that the staff only found out what happened hours before the announcement was made, and they are currently closing shop with one final Twitch stream of Grand Theft Auto III, the first and now last game to ever be captured by GameTrailers.
Perhaps GameTrailers is best remembered by GameTrailers TV, a show hosted by Geoff Keighly that featured reviews, previews, and interviews with Todd Howard, Reggie Fils-Amie, and many more. It occupied an interesting space in the gaming world, and despite airing at midnight, managing to rank in better ratings than anything put out by G4. Of course, they also had many other webseries, including Level and The Final Bosman. It was also the site where The Angry Video Game Nerd was first hosted, and where many discovered the programming of ScrewAttack.
While the future is uncertain for the GameTrailers staff, if there's one thing someone could take away from their run, it is that they added much to the games press scene, and their presence will be missed.
Quick Take
Games press has never been the most stable form of media. Historically, we've seen all sorts of great publications close down from Joystiq to Nintendo Power, but that doesn't make any loss hurt any less. GameTrailers were a driving force in the field, and they will be missed by readers and peers alike. We hope nothing but the best for the former staff in their future endeavors.
