On October 30th 2012, freelance journalist, Matt Hughes, who had featured bylines across many high profile gaming online publications, took his own life. Prior to the incident, Matt sent out an email to coworkers stating something along the lines of not making deadlines because he’ll be dead. While such bluntness could be confused for dark humor, Gamesradar’s Sophia Tong recognized the severity of the statement and contacted the police, but law enforcement officials did not arrive in time. Since then, his Twitter profile has been left to go dark, with only his picture (Seen above) remaining.
All publicized accounts of Matt described him as enthusiastic and positive, with a talent for gaming journalism and a professional demeanor. Statements from previous coworkers have come out recently in response to the news.
“I didn’t know him personally — he’d been writing for me for the last four weeks or so, and our emails had only really been about work,” said Andrew Hayward, games/apps editor at Mac|Life. “But in my limited interactions with him, I thought him to be very enthusiastic about taking on new opportunities, and he had been building a really impressive freelance career. His writing was great. That’s part of why this seems so remarkably sudden. There weren’t any red flags at all.”
“We did a bit of voice chat when he reviewed Orcs Must Die 2 for us,” said Joystiq reviews editor Richard Mitchell. “The one thing I do know is that he was a pleasure to work with. He was professional and courteous, which goes a long way. He just did a review for us a week ago, and this was a complete shock. I certainly never felt any bad vibes from him.”
“In honor of @MottHoos, if you ever feel like you’re totally alone, you’re not. Please reach out to ANYONE. Even a weirdo like me. We care,” wrote tech writer Ashley Esqueda.
We at Elder-Geek would like to offer our condolences to Matt’s friends and family, and remind anyone suffering from thoughts of suicide to reach out to Suicide Prevention on their website or their phone service, 1-800-273-TALK.
(Via GamesThirst)
Report filed by Rakan Stanbouly