It’s a normal day at the office, by which we mean from our houses because the majority of Game Rant’s talented editorial work remotely. All is proceeding as usual, we’re keeping tabs on social media channels of game developers, monitoring Reddit threads for trending topics, or adding our written pieces toValnet’sproprietary CMS (content management system).
Then, it happens. Routine is shattered.
The biggest of big gaming news breaks, and we’re caught off guard with little to no prep time. It’s the kind of news that majorly interrupts our ordinary workflow, but we need to cover it immediately.
It’s a rush of a moment, when a game studio drops a surprise announcement and we have no forewarning. But given our years of experience, the GR editorial knows exactly (more or less) what to do in situations like this. We embrace the challenge of bringing insight to a sudden and unexpected update.
Here’s a breakdown of how we handle breaking stories.
A Near-Constant State Of Preparation
As anyone in the digital media landscape can tell you, a huge part of being prepared is being tapped into the consciousness of online discourse, i.e. you’re chronically online. This continuous engagement allows for the agile creation of content that resonates with current interests, key word being current. Without this vigilance, news sites risk becoming stagnant, their articles outdated before they even reach readers.
Every day, no matter if it’s a middle-of-the-week Wednesday or a relatively quiet Saturday, Game Rant has someone onthe news teamonline and working. The entire team takes it in shifts so no single person is online all the time, but as a team, there’s always a person at the conn, as Captain Kirk would say.
Breaking news, by its very nature, operates on a relentless and unpredictable schedule. It adheres to no convenient timetable and does not respect weekends, public holidays, or personal commitments. This inescapable reality necessitates an extraordinary level of cooperation, self-sacrifice, and unwavering dedication from every member of the editorial team. It is only through such collective effort that the consistent daily coverage our readers expect and rely upon can become tangible, ensuring that crucial information is delivered promptly and accurately, day in and day out.
Hermit Crabs Aren’t The Only Ones Who Use Shells
On occasion, for news we suspect is likely to occur or imminent, the news editorial will prep articles for these topics ahead of time. What this means is we create article “shells” within Valnet’s proprietary CMS, with the skeleton structure of what this article will look like if the news actually does break.
These shells include basic article formatting and relevant information given our current understanding of the situation. Their design serves as a foundation for the consistency, speed, and accuracy of the published news.
Then, if this news does drop, we can just focus on altering specific sections that require updates or corrections and add context that we might not have included during the creation of the shell. This allows us to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date article as soon as the news breaks, all within a matter of minutes at most.
When Surprise News Truly Is A Surprise
If breaking news drops and we are thoroughly and completely caught off guard, we lean on honed gut instincts and a prioritization of tasks to carry us through the pressures of a rapidly unfolding news cycle. That means if there are not enough people online to cover everything, individual members of our news team can reallocate their attention and efforts to the most critical aspects of a story. The ability to pivot quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing accuracy or depth, is a cornerstone of our newsroom’s resilience.
We identify what news is most relevant to our reader base and prioritize getting that out as quickly (and as accurately) as possible. This involves a rigorous assessment of current events to discern what truly resonates with a wider audience. There are instances when a sudden, high-priority news development demands our immediate and full attention. If that means suspending some other news we were working on temporarily, so be it.
For example, if the news that Half-Life 3 is coming out within a week from today were to drop and the current news editor online at the time was working on an article about a recent patch or content update to Baldur’s Gate 3, the best course of action would be to put aside the BG3 news in favor of the more current and relevant Half-Life news.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has a dedicated fanbase, so the news article about the update is valuable. But in the face of Half-Life 3’s impending launch, there’s no comparison when it comes to significance.
Meanwhile, On The Guides Side Of Things
Our news department isn’t the only team that prepares themselves for surprise game updates.
If a game gets shadow-dropped,Game Rant’s guides teamneeds to be on top of it as well, writing and publishing much-needed how-tos for the game.
Typically, the guides department is able to get access to new game codes, which allows them to play upcoming games ahead of time and plan out guides with a good lead on the release date. Without that lead time, certain difficulties arise.
I need people to check the game out ASAP and find out what the general public will be searching for on Google.
Greysun Morales, the Guides Lead at Game Rant, uses a much anticipated game as an example of what his team should do if it suddenly got released. “So, if Hollow Knight Silksong were to come out today, the best thing that I can do as a lead is to find people who are free right now to immediately jump into the game and explore for pitches. I need people to check the game out ASAP and find out what the general public will be searching for on Google. I would also make a spreadsheet to organize topics, use Steam discussions to see what people are confused about, scroll through the subreddit and also keep an eye on trends. But still, the best thing to do is just get the writers playing.”
That means putting out a call to action amongst the entirety of the guides team to see who is playing. Greysun recalls an instance where this happened, but luckily, GR was prepared. “When Oblivion was shadowdropped a couple of months ago, that was a different case since it was heavily rumored and leaked. Luckily,Erik Petrovichof the guides team is an uber Elder Scrolls fan, so he helped generate ideas that he knew would be a success at launch and beyond.
“Another memorable one is the Metroid Prime 1 remaster shadowdrop from Nintendo a few years back,” Greysun adds. “William Parks ended up writing a full walkthroughfor that one, and it performed really well for us since other websites weren’t covering it or just were late to the party.”
No matter if it’s a sudden, cryptic tweet from Valve hinting at a Half-Life 3 reveal at the most inconvenient hour or Rockstar deciding to suddenly shadow-drop Red Dead Redemption 3, Game Rant is prepared (more or less) to cover these sorts of surprise announcements. We’ve handled the likes of this before; we know what we’re doing. In fact, we thrive under the pressure of breaking news.
As a matter of fact, you could say that the unexpected is just part of our editorial’s expected routine. We’ve built our editorial calendar, sure, but we’ve also developed a rapid response system, always primed and ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Be it a guerilla marketing stunt from a major studio or a last-minute game update that changes everything, the nature of the industry demands agility and preparedness. While others might stumble when faced with the unpredictable, at GR, it’s just another day at the at-home office.
