Continue (stylized as CONTINUE) is Jackson Ryan and Mark Serrels’ answer to Australia’s ever-dwindling video game media scene; a print magazine featuring some of the most important voices in Australian games journalism, which just rocketed past its $18,000 goal on Kickstarter.
If you’re not based in Australia, you might be unaware of exactly how far the video games media scene has fallen Down Under. Video game journalists and websites are getting cut all over the globe, but Australia has seemingly been hit the hardest in the past five years. Why? Well, it’s certainly not due to a lack of support, as Continue, a self-described “defiant, new videogames magazine,” has pulled in roughly 44,000 Australian dollars’ worth of backing on Kickstarter in roughly 24 hours.
“It’s been a brutal time for videogames. Industry wide layoffs, studios shutting down. Games writing has suffered, too. We’ve watched on as our favourite outlets disappear — or worse, transform into AI slop factories,” writes Jackson on Continue’s Kickstarter page. “It feels bleak. It feels like there’s no light at the end of this very dark tunnel. But we believe audiences love great games writing. So we don’t want to give up.”
The first issue of Continue will feature articles from some of Australia’s biggest and brightest voices, including Alanah Pearce, Ruby Innes, Ally McLean, James O’Connor, Ben Armstrong, and more, but the line-up still has room to grow. That’s because Continue’s quest to revive the Australian games media scene is open to pitches from aspiring writers, too—you just gotta fill out a pitch form if you want to get involved.
The project won’t stay bound to a physical format for long, either, as, now that the Kickstarter has passed its AU$40,000 goal, Ryan and Serrels plan to establish Continue as its own website: continuemagazine.com. Although the project has already passed its final stretch goal, there’s still an entire month left if you want to chip in and help support issue #2 ahead of time.