Official Xbox Magazine Shuts Down after 18 Years: Publisher Blames Decline in Video Game Retail

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Image: Official Xbox Magazine

While plenty of magazines have figured out how to survive in an era of instant information, some aren’t so lucky. Eurogamer has learned that British media company Future shuttered its long-running Official Xbox Magazine last week, laying off its entire staff.

Future blamed OXM’s closure on poor sales, which stemmed from a decline in traffic at video game stores (magazines such as OXM are commonly displayed and sold at the counter). The company’s executives claim that they took pay cuts to minimize lay offs, but apparently, it wasn’t enough to save many of its publications (OXM is reportedly just one of six magazines that Future is killing).

“Like many organisations right now, we find ourselves being forced into making difficult decisions,” read a statement from Future. “We have a duty of care to all our staff during this time and our focus is on protecting the business for them and for our customers. We have introduced a raft of measures to keep the numbers of lay-offs to an absolute minimum, including significant pay cuts for our Executive Team and Board. Whilst the decline in retail footfall impacts our magazine business, we are well placed with significant digital audiences and diversified revenues to continue delivering on our customers’ changing needs at this time.”

OXM debuted all the way back in November 2001, the same month as the original Xbox’s release (11/15/01). It isn’t clear whether April 2020’s issue – which features Resident Evil 3 on its cover – is its last.

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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