We're making some improvements to the Eurogamer Supporter program
And adding a little bit more.
Last September Eurogamer introduced its supporter program, allowing readers to pay to read the site ad-free with a few extra perks besides. It's been heartening to see so many of you back what we do, and we're thankful for the support we've had so far. I really appreciate some of the things it's enabled, such as the return of the Eurogamer Podcast which has delivered a compassionate look at the more human side of game development, and the Off Topic column which always offers up some fascinating tangents. Before we go any further, I just want to say a huge thanks for the support so far.
Just over six months in, it feels like a good time to look at our offering and see what tweaks can be made - to bring you a little closer to us here at Eurogamer, to see what else it might help us achieve but also to ensure you're getting the best bang for your buck. I'm pretty happy with where we've ended up, and I hope you will be too. Let me just quickly run you through what's changed.
Firstly, there's a new weekly newsletter for all supporters - replacing the previously monthly letter from the editor. Called Eurogamer Essentials and hitting your inbox each and every Friday, it's a look at the highlights from the site across the week and a little bit more besides, with some insight into what's been happening and the return of Game of the Week. If you're a long-standing reader you might remember the semi-regular column which looked across the current releases with a little added perspective. I hope to do justice to what was one of my favourite series on the site.
Elsewhere there's a new Eurogamer Weekly, hosted by the dashing Bertie Purchese, which brings together some of the team and our regular contributors to talk in a bit more detail about the big features and reviews that have hit the site, and to give you some more insight into the people behind the words. It'll be going out on Fridays as a timed exclusive for premium supporters before rolling out for everyone on Mondays. It should be a lot of fun.
Finally - and I'm sure you'll agree most excitingly - we're going to be looking to hand out key giveaways of some quality titles to our annual premium subscribers. It's Eurogamer's own take on Game Pass! Okay, not quite - we're starting with Castlevania Anniversary Collection on Steam, with 250 keys on offer on a first-come first-served basis (you can find out how to get your code here). In addition to that, in a couple of weeks once you've all had a chance to play through some of the finer entries in Konami's series, we'll host the inaugural Eurogamer Game Club - a Friday afternoon get-together where you can chat away with a few of us about the game in hand. I'll make sure to bring tea and biscuits for all.
We want to ensure the games we do giveaway are worthy of your time - the fine M2-helmed compendium that is the Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a decent indicator of the kind of quality we're after - so can't commit to any regular timing, but rest assured we'll be looking to bring you more as soon as we can.
There is one minor casualty amidst all this, I should add, with Off Topic - which has fast become one my favourite parts of the site - shifting to fortnightly as opposed to weekly, freeing up some time and shifting the focus back a little onto video games. It's a small concession that I hope is balanced out by the rest of what's on offer.
And I hope you'll be happy with the slightly tweaked offering for supporters. We'll be looking to add to it where we can in the future - something special for supporters at EGX later this year and other future events, for example, as well as more giveaways once we get our hands on something worth your time. If you've any questions or feedback I'm always happy to listen, and if you're feeling particularly brave you can always drop me a line at martin@eurogamer.net.
Thanks again for your support, and whether you're a supporter or not thanks, as ever, for reading.