Two Australian journalists, who decided to launch a print magazine dedicated to video game culture with zero ads, have been stunned by the support from readers willing to put cash into the venture.
CONTINUE magazine overshot its funding goal by 400%, its kickstarter hiting $103,594 via 1,620 backers, racing past the initial goal of $25,000.
The title, created by Mark Serrels and Jackson Ryan, is a 100-page annual magazine combining long-form narrative journalism and illustrated feature writing.
Ryan attributed the Kickstarter success to AI slop and Australia’s thriving video game audience.
“We are kind of reaching a peak for AI slop and how it feels like the internet has gone to hell. A printed magazine is a great counter to that and provides something tangible and real and lasting,” he said.
“A lot of the videogame writing I love most has been lost - the websites go and then it's practically impossible to find the articles,”
“We've really benefitted from being clear about our mission and having the industry buy in and I think much of that comes from Mark's raging successes as a videogames journalist, where he has built a lot of trust with that community, and hopefully, my own work plays a small part in it too!”
CONTINUE will carry no advertising.
Instead, the magazine will use its pages to offer indie developers a space to showcase their work, without charging for placement. Which, despite the over-shot investment, carries cost concerns.
“Even with the great success of the Kickstarter, publishing is very expensive. It's likely that for Issue 01, this remains firmly in the realm of passion project,” said Ryan.
“But I hope we can build something that becomes my part-time or full-time job down the line, something that encompasses the print magazine as well as a whole host of other initiatives that benefit the community we have in Australia.”
Yet, the success can’t be understated.
“With CONTINUE?I get to take everything I've learned from them, all the experience I've accrued at places like CNET, the ABC, writing for the Times and the Guardian, and put it into something that celebrates and interrogates videogames. I'm just so incredibly thrilled, feel so fortunate and am extremely grateful to Mark for wanting to take on a project like this,” said Ryan.
“Being able to create a new space for videogame reporting and longform work is what I've been wanting to do for years. To say it is a dream is underselling it a little bit!”
Now that issue one, two, three and more have been funded without any advertisements, Ryan has set his sites on the future.
“It's now very clear the audience wants this kind of thing to exist. We want to, we will, go above and beyond expectations and deliver something truly special with Issue 01," he said. "And hopefully that leads to Issue 02s and 03s and 04s and 10s.”
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