25 years of GameStar – 20 years of GamePro: Webedia Games covets two anniversaries for both print and online brands this year.
25 years ago, at the end of August 1997, IDG-Verlag published the first issue of the PC gaming magazine GameStar, developed and produced by a carefully selected team led by editor-in-chief Jörg Langer. Over the decades, the brand has evolved from an originally fairly strict PC focus to a multi-platform offering.
in the difference too many competitors GameStar also ‘held up’ in print: with a circulation of 45,000 copies, 30,000 copies per month are sold at well-stocked newsstands and by subscription, according to the publisher. For comparison: at the height of 20 years ago, the circulation was still over 350,000 copies.
Therefore, the online presence has been much more relevant for a long time: According to the parent company Webedia gamestar.de is the most visited gaming website in German-speaking countries. GameStar Plus paid reports, reviews, columns and videos are currently used by 17,000 subscribers. On YouTube, the GameStar channel has more than 1.4 million subscribers; the one of miguel graf The podcast responsible for GameStar has 50,000 subscribed Spotify users.
With GameStar Technology an additional tender for gaming hardware and technology was launched in July.
GameStar Editor-in-Chief Heiko Klinge: “I’ve been a part of GameStar history since November 2000, but our anniversary is definitely one of the best things we’ve experienced as a team in all this time. It fills us with deep gratitude to read and hear what GameStar means to so many game fans.”
Sister brand Gamepro is also celebrating an anniversary, in this case its 20th birthday: Because the first edition, led by editor-in-chief Gunnar Lott, was published on September 1, 2022. GamePro’s focus is still on consoles, that is, games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X / S and nintendo switch. Webedia currently sells 8,000 GamePro magazines per month.
Special feature: Unlike ordinary gaming sites, the incumbent editor-in-chief Rae Grimm (at the same time Head of Digital Publications) are also specifically aimed at female readers: according to the publisher, the proportion of women is 25 percent. Diversity and inclusion are other focal points.
In addition to GameStar and GamePro, the Webedia group also includes Moviepilot, Filmstarts, MeinMMO, and influencer marketing agencies. alliance Y flow: forward.