The next issue 46 of PLAY Magazine, out on October 15th, will be the last.
“The sad truth is that all games must end eventually,” the publisher wrote Oscar Taylor-Kent. “That moment has come for PLAY too.”
The original incarnation of PLAY was released in June 1995 and focused on Sony's PlayStation systems and games. It was initially considered a rival to Future Magazine's official PlayStation Magazine.
PLAY marks the second major video game release to conclude in 2024. In August, Game informant was shut down by GameStop after 33 years.
A brief history of PLAY magazine
During its first publication, PLAY became the longest running PlayStation magazine in the UK. It stopped selling print editions in 2016 and briefly became a digital-only publication before closing later that year.
Then in 2021, Future (which had acquired PLAY's owner, Imagine Publishing in 2016), resurrected the magazine replacing Official PlayStation Magazine UK (OPM). Personnel from that team were brought in to run the new PLAY.
According to Taylor-Kent, the revamped PLAY was initially supposed to be called PSM, due to Future's then-magazine PSM2 and PSM3, which focused on Sony's respective consoles and were shut down in 2012.
Instead, a sudden twist led to the name change, which, according to him, “means that every issue of PLAY has secretly succeeded as PSM as well. That's why I've always considered this version of the magazine to be a combination of the legacies of Official PlayStation Magazine, PSM and PLAY.”
THE final PLAY question on October 15, eulogies from current and former magazine staff will be featured, along with PSM and OPM alumni.
We hope you enjoy reading this historic issue,” Taylor-Kent wrote. “It was truly fantastic. I'm signing out for now. Have fun playing the next one!”