I can't stay up to watch the E3 feeds - East Coast + full time that starts early - but hearing this is really a bummer. Austin, you fit in great and brought a variety to Giant Bomb that the website is going to miss. Good luck on your future endeavours!

Good luck Austin! Thanks for being a great addition to the GB family. You will be missed but best of luck to you on your new journey.

Adios Austin, you have been great! It feels like you were here such a short time but I am sure in your next venture you will do spectacular. Good Luck sir.

Holy shit. Austin was a huge reason why I liked Giant Bomb East so much. I looked forward to every time I could listen to him talk about something or read something he wrote. Really one of the best things to happen to this website since its inception. I wish him luck, I'm sure he'll do great, whatever he ends up doing.

Also, just one week!? That's cold Austin. I don't know if I'm ready.

I started my new job the same time Austin came to Giant Bomb and now I'll be leaving it at the same time too... It feels like a lot of change, but I've learned a lot this last year, and I can honestly say more than a few of those things have been from Austin. Friends at the Table and the Beastcast are my favorite Podcasts, and I hope it's not long before I hear Austin's voice in my ear again.

<>

Maan , this is a bit of a bummer :/ I really liked your opinions and rhetoric, Austin, and thought your voice felt fresh and fit quite well into GBeast/GBomb. You will be missed! I am sure your next endeavour will be something cool and I will follow it eagerly. Godspeed and best of luck!

To be read in the style of Austin (esp. on Proj. B.E.A.S.T.): "OhhhHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO!"

good luck man you kick ass

and dam can gb get a break to much change.

For everyone that liked the Beastcast holiday special Fiasco episode, you really ought to check out Friends At The Table, "an actual play podcast focused on critical world building, smart characterization, and fun interactions between good friends." I cannot recommend it enough.

Season 1 was "post-post-apocalypse high fantasy", season 2 (which just wrapped up a week or two ago) was "mecha anime" with the world building/character establishing episode 0 being titled "If Han Solo Used To Be Beyoncé, or: Hashtag Otechku"

Keep it wavy, @austin_walker.

Yeah.

Oh man, GBeast has the best chemistry. Super sad to see Austin go! :(

Thanks for everything Austin. It was always a treat to have such a unique perspective (fly that Musou flag high!) on games and a talented writer on staff. We'll miss you, but you'll definitely be killing it at your new position.

I will miss his laughter. That sounds really cliche but that man has a LAUGH. You could hear him in the background of the Lang/Johnny/Boyes shitshow last night and he was like a real life laughtrack in the best way.

My favourite Walker Guffaw was when the infamous hand sign was revealed in Contradiction.

I have really enjoyed watching/listening to Austin, he fit right in with Vinny and Alex and they all bounced of each other, It's a shame to see him go.

Damn who's gonna play all those strategy games ! You will be missed Austin. Lets poor one out for ya !

Vice Hires Giant Bomb’s Austin Walker to Run New Gaming Site

It was too short a time. LOVE YOU AUSTIN.

Austin was the Perfect Hire, so I am very depressed to see him leave. But yeah there's no way he'd turn down an offer from a rich company telling him they want him to run a website.

Austin quickly became my favorite guy in his time here -- his tremendous insight combined with his appreciation for the ridiculous and weird really struck a chord with me. Sad to see him leave, but very excited to see how Austin and the team he puts together executes on the opportunity he's been given.

I can't say enough how much I will miss @austin_walker. I actually stopped being a member because the tone was starting to shift with some hires and it was feeling more like the site was transitioning to something that just was not my bag. Then Austin Joined and it was a diverse, unique, smart voice that brought me back. @austin_walker: All the best to you and I'll be following. GB: when looking for someone new, you have the exact type of voice that is needed, just use Austin as the job description.

I was really disappointed to hear Austin is leaving already (still am to an extent), but when the news came out that he was going to head a gaming specific wing of VICE, well, that's frickin' awesome. He'll do great, and there might finally be another major gaming site I think is worthwhile, aside from GB, if that's the case! Our current options outside of Giant Bomb right now are pretty dismal, and this could be the perfect new entry to the industry - if done right!

Good luck, Austin! You voice was an amazing addition to GB. Here is to bigger and better things. I'll make sure to keep an eye open!

You're the man, Austin! Keep it real over at Vice. We'll miss you in the land of misfit toys. <3

Best of luck, Austin! Super excited to see what you'll create next!

Sad that he is leaving, but you gotta respect the hustle and you gotta respect the man. You'll continue to do great things Dr. Walker.

I am genuinely going to miss Austin. He is an amazing critical thinker, with well thought out opinions and an excellent communicator, plus he has an amazing sense of fun and knew perfectly when to switch between the two much like a transforming mech. I'll definitely check out his stuff for Vice, hopefully he gets to continue doing what he does and isn't tied down to much.

I thought Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was the biggest thing coming out of E3 for me until I heard Austin was leaving... Then it felt that all the E3 announcements might as well be a fart in the wind compared to when I read that he was moving on. It is down right the most important announcement coming out of E3 for me.

Austin's contribution to Giant Bomb has always been thoughtful and enjoyable. It's been nothing, but a joy listening to the chemistry of GBeast gang. While I will definitely miss Austin Walker on Giant Bomb, but glad he's going to VICE, which I like as well. Anywho... Best of luck, Taishou Austin Walker, sir!

My thoughts exactly. Listening to Austin challenged me to think about games from critical angles beyond “is it fun” or “is it well made?” He really elevated the discussion to try to articulate the connections to culture and society. I’ll certainly tune in once his project at Vice gets launched... what a coup.

I can't say I'm super bummed (as I don't ever really feel you clicked with me, but that could be the time thing) but I am still bummed none the less. Good luck at Vice.

Loved listening to Austin on the Beastcast and reading his written work on the site. He'll definitely be missed. But, I do have to admit it probably is for the best. Giant Bomb only has room for one doctor:

Yep, he made me more critical about things I consume and engage with, it's been great!

Good Luck with VICE Gaming.

May you have fair winds and following seas.

Also VICE is only a URL away, not like you're dropping of the planet.

And don't be a stranger.

Tough loss for GB East for sure, but I'm incredibly appreciative of the stuff they did together over this past year. The Beastcast even became my #1 podcast.

That was one hell of a year. Congrats on the move - i'm looking forward to following your stuff.

<3

Yo I think i tweeted this but Austin made his tenure here my favourite period of GB to listen to. I'll absolutely check his next stuff out.

Austin, as a long-time Giant Bomb fan I loved what you brought to the site. You should be proud of the large, positive impact you made on Giant Bomb. It's terrible to lose you but this new job sounds HUGE. Keep unpacking those deep thoughts, duder!

Lets all Hope for a Giant Bomb Vice Gaming Collaboration with Austin returning to his old stomping ground.. A gentleman and a scholar.

Happy travels, Austin.

I feel like I've said it in every comments section, chat, an twitter, but it bears repeating. Thanks for everything Austin. You made Giant Bomb a place I come to not just to laugh, or for coverage of new releases, or Jeff's (pretty great) old man games journalism stories, but for insightful, interesting critical discourse as well.

I remember reading some of your freelance work in 2014 and wondering "how does this guy not have a full time job?" I'm glad to see you get the opportunities you've worked so hard for. Giant Bomb will continue to be great and I'm genuinely very excited to see what you do at Vice, but your tenure at Giant Bomb was a special time that I'll always remember fondly.

On a different note, living in the UK and watching the results and aftermath of the Brexit vote come it and feeling genuinely terrified about the future, it was to GBeast stuff that I turned for comfort - that latest Beastcast animated video was the only thing that made me laugh all night.

Thanks for everything.

I am super gutted for the Giant Bomb community as a whole, but happy that Austin gets such a great opportunity. In the short time he has been the news editor, he has given of his kindness, mind, and personality that blend so seamlessly into the GB fabric. It is hard to see such a good guy go. The very best of luck to you, duder.

Austin Walker is the Zaku of the Tolstoys!

It feels like you're going far too soon, but you brought so much to the site in your short time here. Thanks for opening my eyes to a bunch of stuff I never knew about.

I'll miss you.

Best of luck with everything, Austin.

Aww man! C'mon! First we lost Ryan, Scoops left, and now Austin is leaving?!?! Man you were a blast to listen to and we will miss you. Good luck and keep us posted on your career!

Yeah, I can only reiterate the praise that has already been given, but it is indeed worth repeating:

Austin, with his wit, sincerity and intelligence really has elevated the level of discourse on the site, and has been paying it forward by giving a host of diverse voices a spotlight.

He seems like a genuinely kind person, and it does feel like he's always been part of the GB Crew. It is largely thanks to his wonderful report and chemistry with Alex & Vinny that the Beastcast became one of my favourite podcasts. (Sorry, Bombcast! You are okay.)

And though there will be a Austin-shaped hole in Giant Bomb's heart, it's going to be rad to see his future adventures with VICE! :D

See you, space cowboy! <>

Good Luck, Austin!

I'll miss you Austin. You were a cool duder and I appreciated your insight into issues. Also we STILL need an anime editor. Best of luck to you.

Good Luck Austin! You were a great addition to the GIant Bomb team

Thanks for your awesome work, Austin. We'll miss you! Hope you can come back on the Beastcast from time to time.

Peace, @austin_walker! Thanks for your (too short) tenure with the GB crew. Thanks for bringing such a great, eloquent critical eye to this stupid pastime of ours and helping to elevate it toward the art form we know it can be.

You'll be missed! But I'm sure we'll see you drop by once in a while. Keep up the great work and the thoughtfulness you put into your criticism!

Good luck at Vice! You're pressence will be missed!