Gaming editorial and community website Giant Bomb reported yesterday that senior editor and cofounder Ryan Davis passed away on July 3rd at the age of 34, just days after his wedding.
The host of the Giant Bombcast was an editor at industry giant Gamespot, until a schism between management of the website and coworker Jeff Gerstmann led the pair to break off and found Giant Bomb. The site aimed to create a community of gamers and a massive wiki-style database of video game information, but it’s popularity and enduring appeal is inarguably due to the strength of the personalities of its editors, who alongside Davis and Gerstmann include former Gamespot employees Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella.
Ryan wed his long-time fiancé the weekend before his death. The cause of death has yet to be revealed.
An outpouring of grief and support from fans, media outlets, and game makers has flooded the internet in the wake of the announcement, an indicator of the great affection this industry held for one of its commentator-luminaries.
On a personal note, Ryan Davis and the rest of the Giant Bomb crew were instrumental in my decision years ago to become a games journalist and pursue the dream of covering video games for a living. Ryan and Jeff striking out on their own to form their own site, a site that they would want to read, inspired me to break out of the stifling corporate environment I was wasting away in and chase a better future. His down-to-earth, charming, take-no-flak personality, intelligence, and wit anchored one of the best podcasts (and websites) on the internet, and he will be dearly missed. My thoughts are with his friends and family.
Published: Jul 9, 2013 01:08 pm