After 13 years of serving gamers as one of the best online resources for video game clips, GameTrailers is shutting down.
The closure of the company was a surprising announcement, but not entirely unexpected due to the changes that have been applied to the video game industry over the past years.
In a Facebook post, GameTrailers discussed its 13-year history, beginning with its formation in 2002 when Internet video was described as a revolutionary concept. Back then, the company said, online video game journalism was still dominated by text and static pictures, an environment that GameTrailers changed by introducing clips as a means of informing fans of the latest video games.
Over time, GameTrailers evolved to also feature original series, video game reviews and other kinds of content.
"We're proud we helped bring this world into being. That is the legacy of GameTrailers," the company's post said.
The decline of GameTrailers could be partly attributed to the ascension of YouTube, which became the go-to site for all kinds of video, including video game clips. It also paved way for the foundation of companies such as Twitch, which pioneered more methods of delivering video game content.
The shutdown of GameTrailers, however, does not come without drama involved, as a post on the NeoGAF forums by Associate Editor Ben Moore revealed that the company's employees only learned of the closure of GameTrailers on the day that it was closing up shop.
Why employees were not made aware of the plan to shut down GameTrailers is still unclear. Perhaps more details will be revealed on the final Twitch stream of GameTrailers on Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. PT.
Meanwhile, the reactions have mostly come with sadness in seeing the company's operations end.
@GameTrailers Sorry to hear that- best of luck to the team! - md
— metacritic (@metacritic) February 9, 2016
@GameTrailers Sad day indeed. Best to all of you! pic.twitter.com/TWXRMyhKd3 — Obsidian (@Obsidian) February 9, 2016
.@GameTrailers Even so, this really sucks. GameTrailers has always been one of the best outlets for fair yet passionate game journalism. — Cheesemeister (@Cheesemeister3k) February 9, 2016
@oliverbcampbell @GameTrailers pic.twitter.com/r3aWQ3KXuT — focuspug (@darknaruto99) February 9, 2016
