The sudden closure of Kotaku AU in 2024, along with other shutterings, layoffs and acts of corporate downsizing, has left video games media in Australia reeling. A country that was once home to multiple magazines, websites and communities finds itself facing 2026 with almost no local, specialised written coverage at all.
In an attempt to do something about that, a couple of veterans (disclaimer: we know both of them, as you're about to see) have decided to skip launching a website and go right back to the source: a video games magazine. Called CONTINUE, it's currently up on Kickstarter looking for enough money to get at least one issue together, pay for illustration and provide some kind of space for local games media (and criticism especially) to get the kind of exposure and reception it deserves.
Overseen by former Kotaku Australia boss Mark Serrels and local journalist Jackson Ryan (who wrote this month's incredible 8-months-long investigation into Clickout Media, which began with the demise of an Australian games site), the first issue will feature work from both Serrels and Ryan, along with Alanah Pearce, Ally McLean, Dan Golding, Ruby McInnes and more.
"With CONTINUE we want to create a magazine that sits at the intersection between the immense and incomparable A Profound Waste of Time and the excellent reportage found in magazines like The Monthly or The New Yorker", Ryan says of the project. And while the magazine will come from Australia and feature Australian writers (and artists), the ultimate goal is that it won't be just about Australian stuff. "We won't do traditional reviews or explainers and there won't be much in the way of industry news”, Ryan says. “Our focus is on story. We want to focus on Australian games and Australian developers and while our first issue focuses on our home, games are global — we'll be chasing stories from across the planet."
You can check out the Kickstarter page for the magazine here.
