Key Takeaways:
- Blue’s News remains one of the few independent gaming outlets resisting AI content and monetization tactics.
- Founder Stephen “Blue” Heaslip built the site on passion, not profit — and has maintained that ethos for nearly 30 years.
- The site’s minimal design and human-first approach serve as a quiet stand against the internet’s growing “enshittification.”
A Relic of the Internet Before “Enshittification”
If you’ve tried reading a gaming article lately, you’ve probably noticed it — the constant pop-ups, autoplay videos, and AI-written fluff burying real journalism. This phenomenon, dubbed “enshittification” by writer Cory Doctorow, describes how once-great digital spaces decay under monetization and algorithmic pressure.
But amid this decline, one site still stands firm: Blue’s News, a minimalist PC gaming and tech outlet founded by Stephen “Blue” Heaslip nearly 30 years ago. Created in the mid-1990s during the height of Doom and Quake mania, Blue’s News was born out of pure enthusiasm, not profit. And remarkably, it has stayed that way.
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“No AI Slop, No Sponsored Posts”
Blue’s News has barely changed since its inception — and that’s the point. The site’s familiar text-heavy format evokes an earlier web era: clean, fast, and human. Its tagline says it all: “No AI slop, no sponsored posts. Sorry, not sorry.”
Heaslip’s approach is simple: short, neutral news roundups and aggregated headlines. No hot takes. No outrage farming. “Sometimes I question what I’m doing here,” he admits, “but it’s nice to feel like you’re helping stem the tide or digging in against enshittification. The world’s going to enshittify around me — I can’t stop it, but I can revel in something that used to be better.”
Resisting the Pull of Algorithms
That philosophy is rare in today’s attention economy. Most sites rely on engagement metrics, SEO manipulation, and sensationalist headlines to survive. Heaslip knows this — he’s seen it firsthand since Blue’s News’ early days as a Quake fan blog.
He recalls the first moment he felt pressure to chase traffic: “Someone posted a list of Quake sites ranked by link visits. Suddenly it was like a scorecard — and I wondered, why isn’t anyone coming to my website?” Instead of pivoting to clickbait, Heaslip doubled down on consistency and trustworthiness — values that now feel almost radical.
The Last Honest Outpost of PC Gaming News
Nearly three decades later, Blue’s News remains one of the few independent gaming sites left untouched by corporate ownership, AI automation, or ad overload. It’s a small, human corner of the internet that continues to value authenticity over algorithms.
As the digital world spirals deeper into “enshittification,” Stephen Heaslip’s quiet resistance reminds readers — and journalists — what the web once was, and what it could still be.
