The Game Club connected over 1000 players in its first year

A video game network modelled on traditional book clubs has expanded to six countries and connected more than 1,000 players since its founding in 2025.

FTMQ Gaming, written by our newsroom4 November 2026 at 00:170 views

Guy Blomberg and Shay Leighton founded The Game Club in 2025 as a community network inspired by traditional book clubs, GamesIndustry.biz reported. Members play the same video game each month and gather in small groups to discuss their experiences. [1][2][3]

GamesIndustry.biz reported that the network connected over 1,000 players across six countries during its first year of operation. A survey of the membership revealed that 88 percent of participants made new friends through the platform, while 78 percent reported positive social outcomes. [1]

Clubs are associations of people brought together by a shared goal or interest, including hobbies, sports and social activities. The founders stated that they aimed to create something meaningful that celebrates video games and connects players in an isolated world. [1][4]

Guy Blomberg and Shay Leighton founded The Game Club in 2025.
Members play the same game monthly and meet in small groups for discussions.
The network reached over 1,000 players across six countries in its first year.
A member survey found that 88 percent of participants made new friends.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

[1]How traditional book clubs inspired The Game Club to help gamers forge friendships as adultsGamesIndustry.biz, 12h ago (the report this story comes from)
[2]Inspired by the concept of traditional book clubs, The Game Club aims to assist gamers in forming friendships in adulthoodWN Hub, 11h ago
[3]How traditional book clubs inspired The Game Club to help gamers forge friendships as adultsGameDev.net, 12h ago

Background

[4]Club (organization) on Wikipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 4 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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