Long-running gaming podcast “The Retro League” says goodbye
The Retro League has been consistently cranking out retro gaming podcasts since 2009. Hosted by “Jungle Rat” Rob, the show featured a few different co-hosts over the years, though by far the most long-standing cohost being Hugues Johnson.
After running for 464 episodes on a weekly basis (not including unnumbered specials), The Retro League podcast came to an abrupt end following the release of the final episode in November. The Retro League website and Patreon page were removed, all videos were taken down from the YouTube channel, and both Rob & Hugues disappeared from social media. The reasons for this remained a mystery until earlier this week, when Rob posted the following message to The Retro League‘s Facebook page.
Rob here. I just wanted to apologize to everyone. The ending and disappearance of the podcast is my fault. I’m probably going to be off of social media for a long time, but before I go I wanted to thank everyone who has enjoyed the show. It was a great part of my life, and I’ll never forget it. The one thing I want to ask of everyone is not to bother Hugues about the retro league. If he has any projects of his own, I wish him well. I personally don’t care if fans want to trade copies of the old podcast episodes, but I would prefer if people not ask Hugues about me or try to contact him about previous podcasts.
I am deeply sorry that everything had to end so suddenly. It hurts to say goodbye, but life goes on.
This certainly leaves room for speculation as to what may have prompted this decision, but The Splintering has chosen to respect Rob’s wishes for privacy and not inquire further.
Fan reaction has shown quite a bit of surprise, but even more thanks to both Rob and Hugues for providing an escapist podcast that one listener referred to as “comfort food.” From the beginning, The Retro League was designed to be both family-friendly and free of divisive topics such as religion and politics. At the time of this writing, there does not appear to be a way to find or listen to the old episodes unless you already have them downloaded.
The show will probably be remembered for many things, including great fan interaction, undying disappointment in Nintendo’s Virtual Console strategy, fan-voted retro game tournaments, genuinely creative April Fool’s episodes, and their annual “best of” show featuring the “Dana Plato Memorial Award for Biggest Gaming Controversy.”
Best of luck to both Rob and Hugues in their future endeavors, and thanks for the great memories. (Being a retro-themed show, would they actually be “memories of memories?”)
Do you have any fond memories of The Retro League podcast? Feel free to share them below.
The Splintering 
Thanks for covering this story. This was such a great show and it will be missed. I found this podcast in 2014 when i got into the hobby of retro gaming. For me the fact that it was family-friendly and free of divisive topics made it stand out, and it quickly became my favorite show. I have fond memories of the black Friday episodes, the games of the week (I discovered many interesting and fun games) and the humor throughout the shows. Rob and Hughes are great hosts and I really hope someday they get back into podcasting.
I really wish I had downloaded episodes, I never expected it to just go away. Lots of podcast have stopped or gone on break, but they did not disappear. 464 episodes is a big body of work to just cease to exist. I invite fans to post what they have downloaded to archive.org I would definitely appreciate it and I am sure many, many other will as well. If some is able to start it please post a link in the comments below. Thanks!
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As I don’t follow the social media pages this is the only way I’ve been able to find out what happened to one of my favourite and most long time listened to podcasts… really sorry to see this show go and wish both the guys the best for any future projects.
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Rob and Hugues were my go-to podcasters to fall asleep to at night, and the only show I ever turned new episode notifocations on for. Of all the dozen or so shows that I listen to, The Retro League is the one I would have wanted to outlast all the others. The show’s end makes me sad, but the loss of the whole backlog is like salt in the wound.
That being said, I am super grateful for the countless hours of enjoyment I did get, and wish nothing but the best for Rob and Hugues. I only regret not having done more to show my support for the show when I could have.
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I was a guest on several episode in the first couple years. I keep in touch with Hemrawc, one of the founding members. They were a heck of a team. I hope Rob and Hugh are doing well.
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