Electronic Gaming Monthly

• 1. A Magazine Finds Its Moment

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  Electronic Gaming Monthly hit newsstands in 1988, born under the banner of U.S. National Video Game Team's Electronic Gaming Monthly, published by Sendai Publications. The hobby it covered was young, sometimes dismissed, and hungry for a dedicated voice. What the founders built was a monthly ritual for a generation of players who had no internet, no streaming, no instant access to reviews. For them, EGM was the conduit. The questions worth sitting with: how did a niche print publication earn the loyalty of millions, survive multiple near-deaths, and leave a mark that a Kickstarter campaign in 2024 could still summon?

• 2. Spin-offs, Switches, Shutdown

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  In 1994, EGM spun off EGM2, a companion magazine focused on expanded cheats, tricks, maps, and guides. EGM2 ran for 49 issues before becoming Expert Gamer in August 1998, which itself lasted 39 more issues, finally expiring in October 2001 under the name XG #88. Back at the flagship, after 83 issues the publisher changed in June 1996, with Ziff Davis taking over from Sendai Publishing. That transition held until January 2009, when Ziff Davis discontinued the magazine following the sale of 1UP.com to UGO Networks. The February 2009 issue had already been completed but was never published. In May 2009, EGM founder Steve Harris bought back the magazine and its assets. Harris relaunched it through his new company EGM Media, LLC in April 2010, and that version widened coverage to include PC and mobile gaming for the first time.

• 3. The People Behind the Pages

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  Polygon wrote in a 2014 retrospective that EGM "maintained a focal position in the games media landscape" for two decades, calling it "a vital conduit for American readers interested in the hobby" during the era before the internet. That reputation rested on a specific and sprawling roster of contributors. Editors-in-chief included Ed Semrad, Joe Funk, John Davison, James Mielke, Dan "Shoe" Hsu, and Seanbaby. Reviewers and writers carried colorful handles: Ken Williams wrote as Sushi-X, Terry Minnich went by "Trickman," Andrew Baran as "Cyber-Boy," Mark LeFebvre as "Candyman," and Mike Weigand as Major Mike. West Coast Editor Kelly Rickards and Game Scholar Leonard Herman were among the named contributors, alongside artists, arcade editors, and operations directors. Writers from sister publications including GameNow, Computer Gaming World, and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine regularly crossed over, keeping the broader Ziff Davis ecosystem tightly woven.

• 4. How Games Got Graded

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  EGM's review system changed more than once across its run. For most of its life, a team of four editors assessed each game, each writing a short opinion and assigning a numerical score on a 0-10 scale. By 2000 the team shrank to three, and by 2008 most games were reviewed by a single person. Major titles still went to a pool called the Review Crew. The Platinum Award, requiring nothing but 10 ratings, was deliberately withheld until 1998, when Metal Gear Solid received four 10s and an editorial published six months earlier had already announced the policy change. The numerical scale ran until the April 2008 issue, when EGM replaced it with a letter grade system; a C was explicitly defined as average, Silver covered grades from B- to B+, Gold covered A- to A, and Platinum required three A+ grades. In 2002, EGM added the "Shame of the Month" for unanimously poor-scoring games. That same year, 2002, the magazine's subscription base grew by more than 25 percent, suggesting the review apparatus was drawing readers, not driving them away.

• 5. Pranks, Hoaxes, and April 1992

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  EGM built a reputation for April Fools content that became part of its identity. The most consequential prank appeared in the April 1992 issue, which fabricated the Sheng Long hoax tied to Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. The hoax convinced readers that a secret character could be unlocked through an almost impossible in-game sequence. Gaming communities debated and attempted the feat for years. The magazine's April jokes became an anticipated annual event, mixing humor with reader participation in a way that print media rarely managed.

• 6. Beyond the United States

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  EGM en Espanol launched in Mexico in November 2002, published by Editorial Televisa with a distinct editorial staff. The Mexican edition tilted its coverage toward the Latin American gaming audience: soccer games received more attention than NASCAR or American football, and humor was calibrated for the local readership. The editor-in-chief throughout its entire run was Adrian Carbajal, known as "Carqui," who had previously worked at Club Nintendo and Atomix. A weekly podcast called "Playtime!" was hosted by most of the editorial staff. The edition ran until December 2008, when Ziff Davis's financial problems shut it down. EGM Italia ran in Italy from 2001 to 2003, published by Edizioni Star Comics S.r.l. EGM Brasil launched in April 2002 through Conrad Editora; by late 2005 it had shifted to Futuro Comunicacao, and after the U.S. edition folded it was rebranded EGW. By 2006, editions were also publishing in Thailand, Singapore, and Turkey.

• 7. Digital Life and Lasting Legacy

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  EGM's first website went online in 1995 at nuke.com. After Ziff-Davis purchased Sendai Media Group, nuke.com merged into GameSpot in 1996. When GameSpot was sold to CNET Networks, EGM launched 1UP.com in 2003. The magazine's weekly podcast, EGM Live, aired every Monday on 1UP.com and featured guests including Cliff Bleszinski from Epic Games and Marcus Henderson and Ted Lange from Harmonix. Since the 2010 relaunch, the home site has been egmnow.com. In March 2019, EGM announced a web-only relaunch under the backronym "Enjoy Games More," promising long-form features, original reporting, and intelligent critique. By April 2020, editor Josh Harmon announced a retreat from long-form articles, though daily news coverage continued. In October 2024, EGM launched a Kickstarter for The Electronic Gaming Monthly Compendium, a retrospective book, and hit its $35,000 fundraising goal in less than 24 hours of launch.