Players of all genres have at one point come across the same sites looking for news, cheats, and guides to the current game that they’re playing. All of this is posted by the content creators who work to bring readers up to speed. Fandom recently made a deal with Red Ventures which allowed them to acquire a series of media sites. As a result, the video game news media suffers a wave layoffs from GameSpot and Giant Bomb.
Game Spot first launched in 1996, it is well known for its breaking news on video game content as well as uploading game cheats and guides for gamers to search up. Giant Bomb made its debut back in 2008. Composed of videos, commentaries, and guides as well, this site made it to TIME magazine as one of the top 50 websites of 2011. But due to the recent deal, Fandom owning these two sites now poses a challenge to its current state. Because of the large consolidation of sites, Fandom has begun a string of layoffs across all its sites.
GamesIndustry.biz reported that Fandom acquired these sites in deal worth $55 million. After the completion of the deal, fandom started to make its layoffs, making people uneasy and uncertain about their place in these companies. It was noted on GamesIndustry.biz that around 40- 50 people were affected by the layoffs, leaving many writers and content creators worried. In response to the discouraging situation of the matter, Giant Bomb decided to temporarily pause any new content on its site.
Although it isn’t uncommon for large buyouts to come with layoffs, it certainly leaves the video game media community on alert. Fandom has yet to comment on the nature of the layoffs.