Earlier today, Anandtech posted a farewell to its audience saying that today is the last day of publishing after 27 years. They stated that Future intends on keeping the site online indefinitely (unlike TheInquirer.net that was snuffed out after it closed) and their forums will remain in business as well. This is 10 years to the day that Anand took his retirement package and headed out the door.
I’ve personally been a reader of Anandtech for most of its existence, and especially before the content stream started to dry up, it was a great go-to source for hardware information along with the previously departed HardOCP. Their detailed deep dive writing along with others in the long form business is exactly why I started The FPS Review – because this is the type of content that I prefer and I would like to think there is a way to make it into a sustainable business model.
This is a reminder to everyone that this is a difficult industry to not only thrive, but also survive – publications have to adapt with the changing environments to stay relevant, but at the same time, keep true to their passions – which is a very difficult balance. The balance is even more so when the publications are owned by the larger corporations as opposed to enthusiasts in the industry – the larger companies have far more metrics for revenue growth, cost cutting and a decision process that focuses on immediate return of investment as opposed to doing what is right for their audience.
Ian Cutress posted an insightful farewell video that gives a bit of the backstory around how the last decade operated under the hood and from myself, as an outsider looking in, it looked about like that as well.
I hope the Anandtech crew lands on their feet and gets the support that’s needed to continuing doing the excellent work that they’re known for.