Giant Bomb’s future ain’t looking too bright after a big ol’ showdown with their parent company Fandom, who also happens to own GameSpot. The drama unfolded over some editorial interference, and things got real messy real quick. Creative director Dan Ryckert dropped a bombshell during a livestream, announcing he’s done with the Giant Bombcast. And if that ain’t enough, co-host Jeff Grubb spilled the beans on social media that he’s outta there too. Giant Bomb content? Yeah, that’s on hold for now while Fandom figures out what the heck to do next. They’re talkin’ about a “strategic reset and realignment of our media brands,” according to what they told Kotaku.
“Well, that was a dream come true. Knew it wouldn’t last, though,” Grubb wrote on Bluesky after being let go in 2022, when longtime host and cofounder Jeff Gerstman left. “Out of a job at the moment. But I’ll always be doing Game Mess with Mike Minotti,” he added, mentioning the podcast they host together. Minotti also chimed in, sayin’, “Needless to say I will no longer be contributing to Giant Bomb. Jeff was a workhorse and a hero for the way he shouldered so much responsibility there, and I am furious with the way execs treated him.”
The drama continued with a “pause” on Giant Bomb streams at the end of April and the removal of a Giant Bombcast episode from YouTube because of some “brand safety” concerns brought up by Fandom’s management. Ryckert, who had been with Giant Bomb between 2014 and 2020 before returning in 2022, made it clear he’s done with the show and ain’t interested in Fandom’s vision for the future. A spokesperson for Fandom told Kotaku that they’ve paused the live streaming for now, but they got some “creative ideas” in the works for Giant Bomb’s future.
Fandom, the wiki company known for monetizing free contributor pages with annoying auto-play video ads, bought Giant Bomb and GameSpot in 2022. Less than a year later, they started making cuts to both sites. Fandom’s ad business got some heat after a 2024 report questioned the brand safety of the content their ads were popping up against on user-generated wiki pages. As for the current crew at Giant Bomb, you got senior producer Jan Ochoa, general manager Jeff Bakalar, and editors Tamoor Hussain and Lucy James. The big question now is who’s gonna stick around after this mess and what the heck is gonna happen to the website, which is known for its forum and annual Game of the Year lists.
And that’s the latest on the whole Giant Bomb fiasco. Not really sure why this matters, but hey, drama’s drama, right? Who knows what’s gonna happen next in this wild ride?
