That time has come. For anyone still checking back in hope that AusGamers would start posting regularly again, given we’ve been sporadic and largely dormant these past six or so weeks, we can now reveal that both Kosta and I, the site’s long-time co-managing editors, have made the decision to move on to something new, while Mammoth Media has decided to put the site out to pasture.

The reasons are numerous, but largely we just wanted a new challenge and to have full ownership over our next adventure. This was all amicable with no hard feelings between camps and therefore isn’t tied to the recent spate of site closures or firings or resignations across the gaming media landscape. (Largely because we haven’t been employed with Mammoth these past number of years, running the site in a kind of defacto setup with Mammoth.)

So what’s next for us?



We’re launching a new entertainment platform called 3rd-Phase Boss focusing on Gaming, Tech & Gear and Pop Culture. We’ll also be building out a merch store, working with artists that work in and around gaming and pop culture to produce bespoke ‘Limited Run’-style shirts and prints. The tone of the site will be not all that dissimilar to what we produced here, but it’ll be more expansive and will focus more heavily on the celebration of so-called ‘geek culture’ and will feature a more rounded and dynamic social media presence.

But we want to specify it won’t be AusGamers 2.0 (the Mammoth cats have given us permission to carryover a collection of our work from here, though that will be updated and reformatted for the new digs so as not to ‘copy and paste’, so to speak).

This wasn’t an easy decision. For almost two decades AusGamers and Mammoth Media have been ever-present in my life, and I can’t thank Trog and Term enough for taking a punt on me all those years ago, and my time working alongside Dan and Eorl as well as the rest of the Mammoth Media guys will forever remain one of my most beloved professional jaunts. And then being able to work with one of my best friends in Kosta at this site has been amazing, but together we just felt it was time we owned our own s***. 3rd-Phase Boss is wholly owned by us under our freshly-minted digital publishing and professional writing business, Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd and will launch in early 2024.

Thanks to everyone who followed our words and our stories over the years and thanks to everyone we ever worked with here. You can get in touch with us at our new digs via email and for all enquiries related to AusGamers use the site’s contact form as those still reach Mammoth Media.

Cheers,

Steve and Kosta

Best of luck, cainers!

Damn, this has been my go to website for gaming news for over 20 years, I think i found it from playing countrer-strike on ausgamers or QGL servers. The simple design and no fuss articles have made it my homepage for much of that time and the first thing i check when loading up chrome.
Thanks to everyone involved in the site past and present, best of luck going forward with the new site. Perhaps it can be my new homepage for another 20 years.

It wouldn't be a proper farewell without a cynical Hoggy boost of confidence :P

I'll still be hanging around in these forums from time to time, but maybe now the old crew can reclaim the feed and not be spammed with stuff from Kosta and I and just go back to arguing political semantics and philosophies!

Yoooo. Great to hear Steve and Kosta. Thanks for all your contributions and good times over the years and best of luck with the new digs.

thanks bros, thanks everyone.

i met some truely awesome people here, and paveway.

Really enjoyed Ausgamers over the years. Thanks for everything o7

End of an era.
Thanks for all the lols over the years.

After that absolutely terrible Prince of Persia: Warrior Within review was posted, it was only a matter of time.
gj folks, thanks for all the fish :)

Farewell, thanks for keeping the site alive after all of these years.

a lot of non names here.

id like to see a heap of old skool real names pop by to say goodbye

a lot of non names here.

id like to see a heap of old skool real names pop by to say goodbye

They're all still doin' time for their crimes committed at QGL Lans.

Wow, good luck and all the best with the new site lads. Was a fun run.

3rd-Phase Boss is wholly owned by us under our freshly-minted digital publishing and professional writing business, Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd and will launch in early 2024.

As per the OP.

It's designed, as in all pages have been signed off, it's now with the developer. But yeah, we're kicking things off in 2024, we just needed to let all of our contacts know and to start trying to build an army of artists wanting to work with us for our merch stuff so we don't launch with an empty store front ;)

I used to love the debates with Paveway. They were some of the most epic fun on this forum.

As per the OP.

It's designed, as in all pages have been signed off, it's now with the developer. But yeah, we're kicking things off in 2024, we just needed to let all of our contacts know and to start trying to build an army of artists wanting to work with us for our merch stuff so we don't launch with an empty store front ;)

Missed that from your overlong OP somehow.

Wake me up when something interesting is happening.

Hi

Bye

Also good luck with the new venture 👍🏼

maxe was in C block at Arthur Gorrie last I heard

lol where did you hear that?
ive never seen the inside of a gaol


let the record show that as of my last last qgl post i am free man. living, learning, thriving

lol where did you hear that?
ive never seen the inside of a gaol

But you do have your own dungeon for lone unsuspecting wayward travellers.

Who doesn't?

Wow! Did I miss out on another trend. I need to work on my trendsetting.

Hello all,
Good luck all
:)

Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers.

Will def miss AG, but good luck with the new platform. Take care!

Still stuck the head in from time to time over the years, but surprised it's been this long. Good luck with the new stuff guys, thanks for a fun couple of.. uh, decades.

christ

Always enjoyed reading your reviews, so glad to see you guys go on to make something new.

But sad that this might mean the final blow that kills qgl.

Speaking of QGL... that first photo!

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/jan/20/strange-sweaty-sociable-early-days-of-gaming-in-pictures

A very late reply from me - apologies (had some family stuff happening when this was posted, and then after that ended I got appendicitis, so the last couple months have been intense).

Best wishes for the future to both Steve & Kosta. Your efforts in keeping AusGamers alive over the last few years were amazing and of course all the stuff we did when we worked together was not only impeccable but very enjoyable. I was always blown away by your engagement with the industry and how you communicated your findings back to the gamer community, both locally & globally.

While I haven't posted as much as I used to I still read every news item and (almost) every review that was posted, knowing that it was going to be the best look at what is going on.

I think it's testament to your professionalism both as a gamer & as a journalist that you've been able to have such a long and distinguished tenure here with basically no major issues outside of a few gamers being sad because you scored a game a couple of points too high or too low. In an era which encompassed some amazingly terrible online behaviours, AusGamers, under your lead, not only avoided getting dragged into diverting messes but focused on the core mission and continued to deliver what it was founded to do - deliver the best possible information to the Australian gamer.

Unfortunately changing conditions in the online publishing market and gaming industry all affected AusGamers' parent company which meant it wasn't able to get the attention that it once used to. I've been disappointed that this happened & have been searching for ways to try to resurrect something from the ashes for years, but it requires almost a back-to-the-drawing-board approach - so I'm glad you guys are breaking off to pursue exactly that strategy.

I don't know what comes next for AusGamers - obviously it will be quiet around here for a while. But I'd like to think there's an adventure or two left in it somewhere.

Very much looking forward to seeing your new venture unfold and doing whatever I can to help it be a success!

Thanks for everything.

Actually ... maybe that's a pathway?

Crowd source your content via a set of volunteers who either do it for the love and the historicity of the site, or are young, enthusiastic and looking for publishing credits with a real site.

Maybe even convert AGN to a non-profit dedicated to supporting Australian gaming culture, community, development, independent journalism and review.

is there someway i can convert my postcount into actual crypto?

Post your bank details to http://somefatbastard.crypto.inmybackpocket.com

I'm in!

Sad to see. I drop back in now and then to see if any of the old heads are up to anything. I owe a lot to many of the guys around QGL everything from hardware advice and building/repairing pc's for me to learning the basics of pc's (didnt feel basic at the time). Things have changed so much on the net and the gaming world over the last 20+ years. Thanks to all the boys who have put in so much work over the years. So many great memories and good people.

Checking in (very late) to say it's been real champs. From attending QGL to haunting Brissie LAN cafes to GameArena and then here as a refugee. Can't wait for 3rd-Phase Boss (although I distinctly recall telling Steve in detail how much I hate three phase bosses when doing my Dark Souls 3 review)