Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight. I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the best community-created works from the previous week. It was an eventful week here on the site to say the least, so let's get to it.
The founder of the site, Jeff Gerstmann, is no longer a staff member here on Giant Bomb. The announcement that Giant Bomb and Jeff would be parting ways shocked us all. Following the news, the site revealed that its new core team would feature Jeff Bakalar, Jeff Grubb, Tamoor Hussain, Lucy James, Jess O'Brien, Jason Oestreicher, Matthew Rorie, Jan Ochoa, and Dan Ryckert.
In writing these Spotlights, I thought I was equipped to handle any sort of news that impacted the site. However, this time around, I really struggled. Jeff was (and still is) a person I look up to and is someone I have been following longer than I can remember. As a result, I plan to continue to support and follow him as many of you have done so as well. However, the team that is still here is a group of creative minds that I want to see flourish as well. I, and I think many of you, have come to terms that it's okay to support multiple gaming groups and brands as we navigate the internet in the coming days, months, and years. That's why I sit here, perfectly content to have hours of content brought to me by Giant Bomb, Jeff Gerstmann, Nextlander, Waypoint, and more.
Nonetheless, many of you are still angry, frustrated, sad, and/or done with the site given that Jeff Gerstmann is no longer here. As a representative of the moderation team, I want everyone to know that the staff and mod team understand. Jeff led this site through several dark moments and defined its identity with his fourteen years on this site. It's okay to feel frustrated or angry.
Jeff has started a Patreon where you can support him on his new project. Giant Bomb, however, will continue to be a place to chat, watch videos, and meet up with friends. If you have concerns about the site and what happened last week, rest assured, you will not be prevented from expressing that. All that the staff and moderation team ask is that you realize that the people still here are human beings and deserve your understanding.
As we move forward, we also have major site and programming changes that need to be addressed. Albummer, Arcade Pit, TVOS, JeffJeff's, Reel Layers, and Armed & Rangerous will continue. Giant Bomb live shows will be free moving onward. Archives of previous premium shows will remain locked behind premium. New Tiers and benefits to premium will be introduced and the first inklings of what the site has planned for the feature can be found in this article. One of these includes a permanent 10% discount to all merchandise in the Giant Bomb store. Be aware, that the site will be investing more into the Giant Bomb Community Discord. For example, Jeff Bakalar, Jeff Grubb, and Rorie all participated in a Q&A in the Discord and you can expect an archive of their Q&A on the site soon.
In terms of premium shows, a few changes are coming.
GrubbSnax is ending to make way to a new DAILY feature with Jeff Grubb called Morning Mess! Expect the same concept but with new additions to make it work in a daily format.
JeffJeff's Bizarre Adventure will be pivoting to take a break from JoJo and will instead cover the first season of One Punch Man.
For those worried about Arcade Pit this week, the feature is not cancelled and instead just took a one week break due to the finale of Grubb Snax being on Wednesday.
VoidBurgers' Hot Takeouts will return as a monthly series.
There will be some in-person content as well as studio-based content in the coming months. Just keep in mind that Jan, Rorie, Lucy, and Tam are the only ones in the SF-area currently.
With all of that in mind, let's take a tour of what the community has been up to recently and explore some well-deserved words of appreciation to Jeff for everything he has done on Giant Bomb. Jeff, thank you so much for everything. This website helped me through some of my darkest moments and it was because you and others held it to a high standard of quality and worked tirelessly to ensure it was a safe place to be and speak one's mind. If we ever meet in-person, hopefully we have time to talk.
Tributes And Words Of Thanks To Jeff
Seems like a different era now but a highlight for me was the time we spent each year talking games at E3 (both before the show and on air). Your questions and commentary are always honest and insightful, thanks for that. Wishing you the best on your next thing.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) June 6, 2022
<3 @giantbomb <3 pic.twitter.com/6kq852zZhB
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) June 6, 2022
Thank you for all the inspiration. Good luck and Cheers! @jeffgerstmann @giantbomb #fanart #nowthatshotsoup pic.twitter.com/JRRe4VZ8om
— "It is I, Jearum!" 🇵🇭 (@jea_rum) June 6, 2022
anyway here's a thread of my personal collection of Jeff Gerstmann gifs pic.twitter.com/MovlO7g3W9
— 👨🚀Ｓｉｒ５０００📮 @ HomeCon (@Sir5000) June 6, 2022
Just wanted to acknowledge the community and how moments like this can affect us. Giant Bomb has, and will continue to be, a wonderful place to spend time online. Each of us became fans during different "eras", and for us Arrow Pointing Down duders, this one hits real hard.
— danny o'dwyer (@dannyodwyer) June 6, 2022
Jeff has had an incredible run at Giant Bomb and helped successfully guide it through all the twists and turns of the industry.
Looking forward to seeing what comes next but hopefully there's also a bit of well-deserved time off in between! https://t.co/Yfuz900uLb