The British Gamer Network, which owns several popular sites, was purchased by the American gaming giant IGN. This network includes iconic gaming sites such as RockPaperShotgun, VG247, Eurogamer, and others. Because both groups are some of the biggest voices in gaming, this will be surprising news for many and affect the entire gaming community.
Due to this purchase, many huge structural changes were immediately made to the companies under the Gamer Network. Unfortunately, these changes had several parallels with some worrying trends in the gaming industry itself. Here is a rundown of IGN’s recent purchase and what that means for online gaming journalism.
The Companies IGN Acquired
According to the announcement from IGN, they acquired the Gamer Network based in the United Kingdom. The network itself is one of the largest umbrellas in video game journalism. Founded in 1999, the Gamer Network became one of the largest gaming sites online. Several subsidiaries include GamesIndustry.biz, Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, VG247, and Dicebreaker. Each of these has a massive following and has become a staple of gaming in its own right.
Originally, the network was owned by RELX, a massive British informational company. From the same report, the amount of money they purchased the company for was undisclosed. Currently, IGN is one of the largest gaming journalism organizations on the web, with millions of followers across various sites. IGN themselves are a subsidiary of the massive conglomerate Ziff Davis.
What Has IGN Done With Them?
Unsurprisingly, these purchases were immediately followed up with a series of layoffs. According to The Verge, there were several “redundancies” that came with this purchase, along with many stories of workers laid off across these sites. However, no official number has been given. In the past year, layoffs have tragically become a staple of daily news for gaming companies.
Video games are not just a business and source of entertainment, they are an art form. Because of this, there should always be enough sites for critics and analysts to get their opinions out on these titles. With so many sites being consolidated under fewer and fewer banners, video game journalism may be heading down the path of the same medium it covers.
The State of Gaming Journalism
IGN is far from the only giant in gaming journalism. Two other examples are the Gamurs Group and Valnet, with the latter having bought dozens of huge sites during its career. Across gaming overall, this is a growing trend that has worried many. One example is Microsoft’s recent purchase of Activision-Blizzard, which got them into a lengthy legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission.
As was demonstrated by all of these acquisitions, they inevitably led to massive layoffs as these companies bit off more than they could chew. As a result, tens of thousands lost their jobs. Because of this, gamers have plenty of reason to be suspicious of such a massive consolidation. With the rise of AI and other far-reaching changes to journalism, one can only hope that great writers will still have a voice within the industry.
For More Gaming Insights…
Edward Fargis is a seasoned writer from across the web. His work can be found on Total Apex Gaming, Total Apex Entertainment, Strangely Awesome Games, Dead Talk News, Siliconera, and Comic Book Resource.
Total Apex is an all-encompassing content producer. We provide heavily-detailed articles daily on entertainment, gaming, sports, and so much more! Check out all our great sports content Total Apex Sports. Check us out on X @TotalApexEandG and our other sites: Total Apex Entertainment, Total Apex Gaming, Total Apex Sports Bets, and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.