Future axing GamesTM and GamesMaster Magazines in the UK

Today is a sad day. Today, I bring you the news that both GamesTM and GamesMaster magazine are coming to an end.

I can’t remember the last time that I bought one of these magazines, but I do remember that I used to buy them all the time when I first got my original Xbox, mainly for the free demos they always shipped with. However, in the digital era, these demos are now available directly on the games console, and any news or reviews I may want to see are available online. So, although it marks the end of an era for these magazines, their fate was inevitable.

I understand that some people like to hold a magazine or book in their hand, and that these people refuse to make the switch to digital on either a PC or Kindle, but honestly, I say that these people need to get with the times; the amount of paper and fuel that is consumed to deliver these magazines could be saved. That being said, there’s obviously not enough of these people left in the gaming sphere to keep these once great magazines afloat; I’m guessing this is because gamers are usually a bit more tech savvy. Their last issue is currently in the works and should be available to purchase soon.

GamesTM is the more recent magazine, having launched in 2002, whereas GamesMaster have been serving people up the latest gaming news since 1993; that’s an amazing 25 years, and we’re glad that the staff at least got to celebrate their 25th birthday.

It’s important to note that the publisher (Future) has said that there will be minimal—or possibly no—job losses, as staff will be relocated to other areas of the business, so it’s not all doom and gloom. We’re not sure what will happen to the people who have an active subscription to either magazine, we’d expect customers to get a refund.

I’ll finish with a few words from Future themselves:

“Despite the company’s strong performance overall, unfortunately GamesTM and GamesMaster are no longer profitable parts of the business,”

“The decision was an extremely difficult one, but everyone here is enormously proud of what the magazines have achieved in their lifetimes.”

Maybe they should have moved their magazines online…