As of today, Final Weapon is officially five years old. Our website was founded on June 24, 2019, and it’s hard to believe that we’re standing here today where we are. Five years later, the website we started with a mission of providing ‘nonsense-free news’ has blown past all expectations and reached marks we’d only dreamed of. We’ve given this site everything we have, and we’ve thankfully found millions of readers over the years who have supported our content.
We’ve made our mark on this industry, and we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. Whether this is your first time on the website or your 100th, I invite you to explore the wide variety of content we have at Final Weapon. Over the years, our coverage has expanded and grown to new industries while maintaining our core area of focus: Japanese gaming. Today, I’d like to share this letter of sorts that outlines our mission, the current state of the website, and an expansive thank you.
Final Weapon’s Mission
Final Weapon was founded on the belief that coverage should be honest and nonsense-free. We began with a focus on Japanese games, which included news, reviews, and features. We expanded over the years to offer an expansive guide area, where we’ve guided out dozens of games (some with over 70 guides!). Additionally, we’ve expanded our coverage to include both Anime and Manga. Our About Us page has our mission statement and core focuses outlined in extensive detail, and I recommend you check it out if you’re interested.
In the future, we’ll continue to drive up the reporting in each of these reporting pillars, with more expansion in consideration as well. However, our main focus has always been to provide you with high-quality content you can’t find elsewhere. I hope you feel we’ve succeeded – I certainly believe we have. Our team works tirelessly around the clock to cover anything and everything we spot. This can be extremely niche titles or the big blockbusters that the world is looking forward to.
One of the most important aspects of Final Weapon is our independence – Final Weapon is independently owned and operated. We’re not owned by any company, which is something sort of rare nowadays in the industry. Obviously, that presents numerous challenges for us, from funding to the number of staff members we have, but I’m overjoyed with what we’ve accomplished in five years as a small independent team.
I’m incredibly proud of the team we have at Final Weapon, with writers all across the world from different countries and cultures. While our core website team only has six people, we take this as motivation to ensure we cover everything we can for our readers. The going can certainly get tough, but this team has persevered through the lowest lows with nothing but a smile. We always give our best with every article, and I hope that is visible as a reader.
Thank you to every Twitter user who liked one of our articles. Thank you to every person who has ever read an article on our website. Thank you to every outlet that has ever sourced or linked to Final Weapon. Thank you to every publisher who has given us an opportunity. Thank you to the wonderful PR teams for responding to our emails and providing us with encouragement. We would not be here without any of you.
The Current State of Final Weapon
Over the past ten months or so, a lot has happened behind the scenes. Some outlets have been more vocal about it than others, but Google released a Google Search update dubbed the ‘Helpful Content Update’ that has decimated the traffic of many gaming outlets, Final Weapon included. Last Summer, our website had millions of views a month, and that was essentially taken away with a snap. Of course, with our revenue largely tied to these numbers, it’s also substantially decreased. This has made bringing in new talent and offering freelance opportunities difficult. We’re still recovering from this update, but it’s been incredibly challenging. We’ve spent thousands of dollars in different areas to bolster our website, whether it be through consultations, audits, or other areas. These investments have not seen immediate results or a clear path to recovery, but I am confident they will position us well for the future.
This isn’t meant to be a sob story or a cry for help – this is important for you as our readers to understand. The entire industry is going through this right now, even the biggest websites on the block. Your support, whether it be a simple retweet on Twitter or sending articles to your friends, is instrumental in our future growth and success. We’re working on expanding Final Weapon on platforms like X (Twitter) and YouTube, as these platforms provide us an avenue to provide paid opportunities for new talent and creators. If you’re a fan of the content Final Weapon creates, we ask that you consider retweeting our content, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and sharing our website with those you know. As an independent outlet, we’re grateful for every like, comment, and share.
Thank You for Your Support
To our partners: thank you for your continued support as we’ve grown from absolutely nothing to the website we are today. We would not be where we are now without your support throughout these past five years, whether it be the constant encouragement or opportunities. I hope our staff has proven we aim to go above and beyond on each project and make every opportunity one of importance.
To our staff, past and present: thank you for giving this website your all. We’ve had almost forty contributors throughout the website’s lifetime, and we could not have done it without each of you. Whether you wrote one article or over 10,000, I’m so proud of each and every one of you. So many of our staff came in with zero experience, but each of you has learned the necessary tools and resources to create pieces showcasing your passions. Not only that, but you’ve come to understand what it means to be a journalist – one that reports with honesty, integrity, and care. Thank you for your dedication to this brand.
And finally, to our readers: thank you for your immense support over the years. You can read hundreds of different outlets, yet you choose to read our content; we are eternally grateful for it. We work tirelessly to provide you with the highest quality content you cannot find anywhere else, and I hope you have been satisfied with our team’s output over the years.
I’m incredibly excited about the future of Final Weapon, and I hope you are too. We’ve done some incredibly neat things over the years, with all kinds of unique content available with just a search. If there’s anything you’d ever like to share with the team, whether it be a suggestion, tip, or even just a message of hello, our Twitter DMs are always open and you can email us here. We’re expanding through new platforms and content types in an effort to provide as much content as possible, and we hope you will continue to support our website in the future.
Here’s to the next five years!
