Mass Layoffs At Polygon, Major Gaming News Outlet

In what seems to be a recurring story these days, yet another gaming news outlet has hit rocky times. In 2023 iO9/Gizmodo shuttered its tabletop gaming coverage, and ComicBook.com follow suit last year, as did Dicebreaker. The latest in this list is Polygon, a site which--amongst many other things--covered a wide array of tabletop gaming news stories.

Polygon has been acquired by The Valnet Group, which owns outlets like Game Rant, Comic Book Resources, and others. Polygon founder Chris Plante posted on Bluesky -- "I'm no longer with Polygon. If you're hiring, please consider the many talented writers and editors now on the market. Every one of them deserves a spot on your staff. I won't be talking more about the sale because I wasn't involved. Going to hang out with my kid. Taking wins where I can."

Many Polygon staff members have publicly posted, saying that they have lost their jobs.

• “I’ll say more later, but I no longer have a job. I’m looking for work, as are so many of my amazing colleagues. I have lots of ideas and things I’d like to write. I’m really in shock.” - Nicole Carpenter, Senior Reporter.
• “I had a great time working at Polygon. Please let me know if you have any cool job openings!” - Michael McWherton, Senior Writer.

For those of us in the TTRPG industry, we'll be most familiar with the work of the senior editor for tabletop games, Charlie Hall, who said "I am no longer with Polygon, my home for nearly 13 years. I am proud of what my colleagues and I have accomplished over that period, and I am especially proud of the role the [Vox Media Union] and [Writer's Guild of America] played in it all. Organize. Now. I am immediately available for hire."

 

[darjr]

I hope everyone lands on their feet

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Valnet has a great track record of turning great sites into hollow shells of themselves.

 

[Von Ether]

On BlueSky, Hall said, "I feel nothing."

I was lucky enough to chat with him once, great guy. I hope he lands somewhere great very soon.

 

[BovineofWar]

I've lost count at how many video game news sites I've switch from due to closures/buy outs/etc. On the tabletop side, losing Dicebreaker hurt and it does sound like Charlie Hall got laid off with this one.

In hindsight, it really makes me appreciate that EN World is still alive and well.

 

[Reynard]

I feel bad for the people that are affected.

That said, I personally did not like Polygon's ttrpg coverage and will not miss it.

 

[Maenalis]

was Polygon any good?
Anyone care to write up a post mortem?

 

[Cergorach]

Due to how the Internet works these days, I would say that I would consider major gaming news outlets one of the less dependable sources for information, especially reviews.

I even wonder for how long independents like Digital Foundry or Second Wind will stay viable. Currently there's a relatively big fan 'ra-ra' movement that's financing the business (for now), but I wonder what will happen when that 'ra-ra' movement dies down and people aren't financially supporting these channels anymore...

 

[doctorhook]

In hindsight, it really makes me appreciate that EN World is still alive and well.

Been thinking about this a lot lately, how great this website is. Been hanging out here since like 2000, in the Eric Noah days (my first few accounts are long lost though), and it’s always been stable and reliable as both a source of news and great forum. That’s a testament to quality moderation and dedicated ownership, but this is a very strong community. I’d love it if this model could work outside of a niche hobby, but I’m afraid quality media probably isn’t as profitable as clickbait and meme-based discussion. I really should become a supporter of ENWorld again, it’s been a long time since my subscription lapsed.

EDIT: I’m trying to upgrade my ENWorld membership but struggling. The “Upgrade Now” button takes me to a blank page. Tried it on three different browsers across mobile and desktop.

 

[Nylanfs]

Been thinking about this a lot lately, how great this website is. Been hanging out here since like 2000, in the Eric Noah days (my first few accounts are long lost though), and it’s always been stable and reliable as both a source of news and great forum. That’s a testament to quality moderation and dedicated ownership, but this is a very strong community. I’d love it if this model could work outside of a niche hobby, but I’m afraid quality media probably isn’t as profitable as clickbait and meme-based discussion. I really should become a supporter of ENWorld again, it’s been a long time since my subscription lapsed.

EDIT: I’m trying to upgrade my ENWorld membership but struggling. The “Upgrade Now” button takes me to a blank page. Tried it on three different browsers across mobile and desktop.

Do you have "enhanced tracking protection" on, or use an ad blocker or Privacy Badger. Those can mess with the transfer of info from one page to another.