About The Indie Informer
How did we get here?
Really, it all starts with Game Informer. The team accepted now EIC Jill Grodt as an intern for the Fall 2018 term, who quit her secure day job to follow a dream. Thankfully, the gamble paid off.
After penning articles for multiple gaming outlets, like GDC 2019 coverage for Destructoid, issues facing independent creators for The Indie Game Website, and a wide range of news for Screen Rant, she became a full-time associate editor at Game Informer.
Then came the layoffs. Though not directly affected, working at the outlet didn’t feel the same and Jill decided to leave to create a new, indie-dedicated website. The Indie Informer is the result.
The site has grown and succeeded in ways its founder couldn’t imagine. Its reviews feature on Metacritic — helping indies garner even wider recognition. The team has been welcomed to world-renowned shows like GDC, Summer Game Fest, and PAX. And love for The Indie Informer continues to pour in.
To everyone who has helped make The Indie Informer what it is — from industry mentors and dedicated indie teams to supporters and brilliant collaborators — thank you so much.
Writers
Jill Grodt
Jill graduated from UC Santa Cruz with degrees in History of Art & Visual Culture and Classical Studies. She then worked nearly ten years in Museums before jumping into video game journalism. She enjoys playing a mixture of genres and can’t resist a hand-drawn indie.
Harry Loizides
Harry has been writing about games for over 12 years. He has also been published in several books where he’s focused on video games and gaming culture. Outside of writing, he is a math teacher, blending education and games into a fun experience for his students.
Becca Smith
Becca has been a games journalist for over 10 years. Her favorite genre is horror, but she also loves cozy games like Stardew Valley. When she’s not gaming, she likes to read and spend time with her two spoiled cats.
Jr. Editor
Jr. Editor Noodles is a very important member of the team, mostly responsible for supervising and morale boosts.
Peter Hunt Szpytek
Peter is a seasoned video essayist who’s worked in the games industry for over five years at sites like IGN, Digital Trends, and Gameranx. When he’s not playing video games, he’s combing through the aisles in foreign food grocery stores for rare cereal.
Joseph Hooper
Joseph lives in the sleepless city of Seattle, where he works as a software engineer to support his true passion: gaming. In the rare case he’s not obsessed with any particular game, there’s a good chance he’s either bingeing an anime, watching a scary movie, or playing with his dachshund.
Hayes Madsen
A trained Journalist with a Bachelor of Arts from Metropolitan University of Denver, my work stresses the importance of original reporting and criticism around the video games industry.
Nicole Carpenter
Nicole is a reporter living in New England. She specializes in reported stories about the business and culture of the video game industry.
John Carson
Video games’ King of Late Night began as a freelance writer in 2009, but cut his teeth in the industry when he became Associate Editor at Game Informer in 2021. He loves all kinds of games but gravitates towards the RPG, action, and fighting genres.
Marcus Stewart
Marcus has been a passionate video game writer and critic for over 10 years, including working as an associate editor at Game Informer magazine. If you can get him to shut up about games, he’d love to talk your ear off about pro wrestling.
Charles Harte
Charles is a writer, video editor, and podcaster who is best known for his time at Game Informer and frequent appearances at MinnMax. When he’s not playing video games, he’s usually playing Dungeons & Dragons or petting one of his cats.
Wesley Leblanc
Wesley has been writing about games for over 7 years at places like Game Informer, IGN, Kotaku, and more. He will continue to write about games until Bloodborne gets a PS5 patch, at which point he will retire from games writing and succumb to the Hunter’s Dream.
