Gaming web site Polygon, which was launched by Vox Media in 2012, has been offered to Canadian writer Valnet, proprietor of Sport Rant, FextraLife, and TheGamer, amongst quite a lot of different on-line leisure, sports activities, and hobbyist publications.
A considerable variety of Polygon workers members have been laid off or give up, together with website co-founder and editor-in-chief Chris Plante.
“I am now not with Polygon,” wrote Plante in a Bluesky put up. “When you’re hiring, please contemplate the numerous proficient writers and editors now available on the market. Each certainly one of them deserves a spot in your workers. I will not be speaking extra concerning the sale as a result of I wasn’t concerned.”
Among the many different exiting workers are particular initiatives editor Matt Leone, who has been with Polygon since its founding in 2012 and wrote its celebrated oral histories of Avenue Fighter 2 and Remaining Fantasy 7, senior reporter Nicole Carpenter, who focuses on long-form investigative reporting, and curation editor Pete Volk, who stated that he was let go together with “nearly everybody else at Polygon.”
Polygon was Vox Media’s third publication, based in 2012 as “a brand new sort of web site, constructed on new know-how, backed by a brand new sort of media firm.” Central to its mission was bringing extra long-form options and investigative experiences to gaming protection, and it has since expanded into different leisure and tradition spheres.
“The addition of Polygon not solely strengthens our editorial muscle but in addition amplifies our potential to ship unmatched worth to each audiences and advertisers,” stated Valnet CEO Hassan Youssef in a press release.
In April, Valnet sued media outlet The Wrap over an investigative report which characterizes the writer as a “digital sweatshop,” calling the article “an inflammatory hit piece.” The Wrap’s authorized counsel describes Valnet’s lawsuits as “inconsistent, contradictory and meritless.”
The 2020s have been turbulent for gaming-related media. The Washington Put up’s gaming part, Launcher, was closed in 2023, and Vice’s Waypoint was shuttered the identical 12 months. Lengthy-running US journal Sport Informer was unceremoniously closed final 12 months, however was reopened by a brand new investor this 12 months. Different publications have confronted acquisitions and layoffs, as Polygon has in the present day.
Additionally this week, Fandom has “briefly paused Large Bomb stay streaming” as “a part of a strategic reset and realignment,” Kotaku experiences. Fandom acquired Large Bomb in 2022.
