I know that Vox/Polygon in recent years has not been an ideal work place as they were negotiating union agreements they were pushing back quite often. I think that we all see the signs but hope for the best.
That should have been the warning bell to get out, but what could they do? Not many places to go. I think it’s why some people have side hustles at Polygon like The Besties. Chris Plante is even questioning starting his own NPR-like gaming podcast.
I’ll be honest I think Polygon came off pretentious in many reviews and articles. I only read it when one of my close friends worked there and once they left and the McElroy brothers left it lost its charm for me.
Recently what I liked about their work was how much they were focused on indie gaming but it’s because they were using smaller writers from substack so it defeated the purpose of even heading there.
Regardless, I hope they all land on their feet, create their own mini polygons, or join us here because big media companies are not it.
That's fair! You've mentioned a few times now that you generally source info from streamers and here on Substack.
But I'm curious. Did you used to read it and switch? Or never found the gaming press to be good? Do they ignore the indie scene -- up until something has already blown up?
Dylan mentioned higher up that GamerGate broke overall trust with gaming reporters (hard for me to see or know that here in Aus).
I tried to write this reply a few times, but it keeps becoming a long rant. I used to be part of the gaming press, so I think about this often.
Suffice to say, none of the above. The decline of Polygon and Giant Bomb are part of the slow death of a gaming press model that only existed because there were no alternatives.
Even the Gamersgate storm in a teacup says more about game reporting’s inflated self-importance than any real connection with their audiences (who largely didn't care - even now, I bet you can poll gamers about layoffs and find most don’t care unless it affects a game they like).
Now that YouTube et al have finally given gaming audiences what they want, traditional game “journalism” is dying.
Gaming is about two things: hype and niches. Gaming platforms that try to please everyone were designed to fail once a more viable alternative showed up, which is what’s happening right now.
So, it’s not a change in my taste. It’s natural selection, imo.
Really interesting insight! Thanks for taking the time to bash that out -- and realise this can devolve into a ranty topic.
Yeah, I can tell you must have been a professional writer, you are pretty articulate here.
It's already kinda kicking the can here in Australia. Our major media outlets ignore it as a topic, the torch is carried by a small outfit of underpaid writers and smaller sites. I'd wager streamers here make the most in terms of media and marketing spend that the gaming press used to receive?
I'm somewhat a bit mixed here. While I regret Polygon's sudden sale, I have differing views on the overall shift of gaming media.
On one hand, you are right, alt media is much better with their audience and engaging with them. They built communities, which are so much more valuable than just an audience. And they rely on that over just traffic to generate revenue.
But on the other, I think there's some fundamental journalism work that's missing here in terms of interviewing, fact-checking and sourcing of info? Is that important here? It's key for other areas of journalism, but in gaming? Maybe? Maybe not? Likely depends on the story.
It just is what it is? But I do think its a shame that people are losing their livelihoods, here's hoping they can find their feet.
Objectively, you are right - there should be fundamental journalism to cover gaming. That's why publications like Gamesindustry.biz and Edge were exciting 20 years ago. But they also were and remained exceptions because of gaming audiences.
You can split this debate into areas: historical journalism and audience journalism.
The former needs harder journalism for the historical and social record.
The latter, though, only caters to what the audience wants—and the audience largely wants what I mentioned earlier: previews, reviews, hype, and celebration of titles they like. They never care to expand beyond that because the rest isn't important to them.
This has a tremendous impact on the economic viability of gaming journalism. The industry is reliant on two main advertisers: publishers and hardware vendors. They have tried for decades to diversify into meaningful lifestyle advertisers, but that never took root because gaming isn't really a lifestyle. It's a subjective activity centred around a group of titles.
So, if you are a publication (a video channel or newsletter) that only focuses on Fortnite, it's much easier to get advertising and branding deals because you have a clear gaming audience profile. This is the inherent flaw with 'cover everything' gaming publications. They are not aligned with how gaming audiences operate.
I agree that gaming should have objective "hard" journalism. But there isn't a large audience for that type of coverage. It's another niche. Hence why I think the likes of Substack and YouTube are better, because it can serve niches, and why "old" gaming media is dying, because it's unsustainable.
I'm seeing much more "hard" gaming journalism today than I've ever seen in my years in the industry. Once hard journalism found its niche publications, like yours, Game File, and many small YouTube channels, the amount of hard gaming news increased considerably because they found their audiences and can develop relative financial models.
It's a pity people are losing their livelihoods. But you can see the same in other entertainment markets, such as music and movies. Publishing is a volatile industry with thin margins and high costs. Yet, there too, you can see that niches are taking over.
The decline of Polygon and their peers was inevitable. They never served gaming the way gaming wanted to be served.
Reading all of this has genuinely changed how I think about this. And I think I'm starting to align with you on it -- makes a lot of sense. You obviously think about this a lot, and have gone through the maturity curve with the argument around this.
Putting it in buckets actually helps my thinking of it too. My issue was that the craft of journalism (where information is sourced via interview and verified) was being eroded by this, and audiences won't know the value of this until its gone. But you are right, its just moving.
I still do think there's an issue around hard stories and self-publishing. Like, if someone comes to me with an allegation of something, the best I can do is refer them to a larger newsroom with legal resourcing.
However, I can't fault your logic. Thanks for the really engaging back and forth!
I'll keep this thread in mind the next time this topic comes up.
It was a real shock. I've been reading Polygon for a ridiculously long time. It's hard to see the quality of its editorial content not dropping when the new owners dropped all the writers and, from what I can gather, don't particularly value journalistic quality.
I'm hopeful that a few Polygon stalwarts, like Maddy Myers, the Dept Editor, are still there. But to shed so many staff so suddenly -- when many of them have been there for decades. It's bloody grim. Vox was one of the good ones -- at least from the outside looking in.
The real tell will be how many of the original team last as time goes on. But its just a sad situation. Some people cheer the demise of media, but even though I'm very pro tech (given my day job) I'd never celebrate someone being put out of their livelihood.
Some of my work gamer circle are declaring games journalism and media dead with this news. I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment completely but it was shocking to hear nonetheless.
i hope that AI will spur creative changes in how news is reported or maybe an increase in opinion pieces...something that the AI is not great at doing. I guess I'm hoping it will spur an evolution of game writing as opposed to it's extinction.
I'd agree with that. Some of my clients have passed me AI-generated opinion, and wow, it's not good. I still have to overlay my PR expertise on it. Make it relevant, interesting and strangely not about Trump.
Games journalism generates too much traffic and interest to be dead. But Google and AI are killing just about anything that is traffic-dependant. Where once they helped in discovery, now its all about ease of information.
It makes sense, logically, as this has always been their goal. But in typical 'Big Tech' style, they've flipped the script without much warning on everyone who works on the internet, called it progress, and show little regard or concern for the consequences.
We'll see how this all pans out. Most mainstream press have insulated themselves after social media did the same thing, and built their own direct channels (such as subscriptions and email newsletters).
Polygon was a year into doing this -- with no subscription in sight, I would have paid for parts of it for sure -- perhaps that was the mistake?
Here's hoping that, despite Polygon's setbacks during the purchase, the quality of their articles is kept intact. But the trend of game media outlets being bought by bigger players make me uneasy with this prospect.
If the number of articles declines, that's a sign that quality is trying to be maintained. If the articles increases, but with less resourcing, then that's a tell of the opposite (generally speaking.)
Games journalism sites have been continually downsized/shut down consistently since the late 2000s, smack dab in the middle of the Great Recession.
I'd like to say I'm surprised when a site like Polygon or USGamer (RIP) or 1up.com (RIP) gets shuts down or becomes a shell of its former self, but I'm not.
With the advent of AI, I expect more of this thing to happen.
Also worth noting: for a sizable portion of the gamer population in the US, I don't think games journalism ever really recovered its reputation after GamerGate. If anything, that incident further divided gamers into the tribes we see them in today - at least here in the US.
It looks like games media is not immune to what happens with studios these days. Whales are swallowing smaller studios and companies for their IP / audience / projects, strip them from anyone they think they don’t need and most of them are losing their identity as a result, becoming just a cog in the big machine… I sincerely hope that won’t be the case for Polygon, but I wouldn’t hold my breath…
I've heard of instances where people move into games journalism (out of game design) because its more stable! Ha! And vice versa tbh.
But to continue your point, there's structural issues with both industries.
The games industry was fine (by its own standards, not by any other industry's), as long as it kept growing. That growth has slowed, and now all the structural issues that emerged are becoming bigger problems.
The games journalism industry, wasn't great to begin with, but was fine (again by its own standards) as long as it's seeing high traffic. But, my understanding, is that it drove most of its traffic from socials, Google, and other sources, rather than its own controlled channels.
Other media have pushed towards corporate partnerships and subscriptions. Games journalism remained readily free, fuelled by display ads generated to sell gaming merch. Was this the right move? Who knows? I don't!
As for Polygon, I'm interested to just see where it goes.
But he consolidation into a few large companies, focused on click farming for revenue, isn't generally a good path forward for the sector.
We are living during extremely unstable times when every few years tech industry as a whole reinvents itself and shifts from one big thing to the next. I'm sure that in 10 years the landscape will be completely different, even from what we are seeing today.
It's a shame, though, that every time this happens, tens of thousands of people have to lose their jobs in the process. I wish the industry would evolve to embrace change and adapt to ever-changing conditions of the market without sacrificing people in the process...
Back in college I used read Polygon on a daily basis, sad that it's going away. I know the site will remain operational but I can't help but think that the essence is long gone
We'll see what happens. I'm not writing it off, but yeah, a newsroom is the product of its team. And with so many cuts, its really taking the soul out of it. That's for sure.
I know that Vox/Polygon in recent years has not been an ideal work place as they were negotiating union agreements they were pushing back quite often. I think that we all see the signs but hope for the best.
That should have been the warning bell to get out, but what could they do? Not many places to go. I think it’s why some people have side hustles at Polygon like The Besties. Chris Plante is even questioning starting his own NPR-like gaming podcast.
I’ll be honest I think Polygon came off pretentious in many reviews and articles. I only read it when one of my close friends worked there and once they left and the McElroy brothers left it lost its charm for me.
Recently what I liked about their work was how much they were focused on indie gaming but it’s because they were using smaller writers from substack so it defeated the purpose of even heading there.
Regardless, I hope they all land on their feet, create their own mini polygons, or join us here because big media companies are not it.
I'd be shocked. But I'm not certain when last I looked at gaming content that wasn't from Youtube or Substack.
That's fair! You've mentioned a few times now that you generally source info from streamers and here on Substack.
But I'm curious. Did you used to read it and switch? Or never found the gaming press to be good? Do they ignore the indie scene -- up until something has already blown up?
Dylan mentioned higher up that GamerGate broke overall trust with gaming reporters (hard for me to see or know that here in Aus).
I tried to write this reply a few times, but it keeps becoming a long rant. I used to be part of the gaming press, so I think about this often.
Suffice to say, none of the above. The decline of Polygon and Giant Bomb are part of the slow death of a gaming press model that only existed because there were no alternatives.
Even the Gamersgate storm in a teacup says more about game reporting’s inflated self-importance than any real connection with their audiences (who largely didn't care - even now, I bet you can poll gamers about layoffs and find most don’t care unless it affects a game they like).
Now that YouTube et al have finally given gaming audiences what they want, traditional game “journalism” is dying.
Gaming is about two things: hype and niches. Gaming platforms that try to please everyone were designed to fail once a more viable alternative showed up, which is what’s happening right now.
So, it’s not a change in my taste. It’s natural selection, imo.
Really interesting insight! Thanks for taking the time to bash that out -- and realise this can devolve into a ranty topic.
Yeah, I can tell you must have been a professional writer, you are pretty articulate here.
It's already kinda kicking the can here in Australia. Our major media outlets ignore it as a topic, the torch is carried by a small outfit of underpaid writers and smaller sites. I'd wager streamers here make the most in terms of media and marketing spend that the gaming press used to receive?
I'm somewhat a bit mixed here. While I regret Polygon's sudden sale, I have differing views on the overall shift of gaming media.
On one hand, you are right, alt media is much better with their audience and engaging with them. They built communities, which are so much more valuable than just an audience. And they rely on that over just traffic to generate revenue.
But on the other, I think there's some fundamental journalism work that's missing here in terms of interviewing, fact-checking and sourcing of info? Is that important here? It's key for other areas of journalism, but in gaming? Maybe? Maybe not? Likely depends on the story.
It just is what it is? But I do think its a shame that people are losing their livelihoods, here's hoping they can find their feet.
Brace yourself - this one's longer!
Objectively, you are right - there should be fundamental journalism to cover gaming. That's why publications like Gamesindustry.biz and Edge were exciting 20 years ago. But they also were and remained exceptions because of gaming audiences.
You can split this debate into areas: historical journalism and audience journalism.
The former needs harder journalism for the historical and social record.
The latter, though, only caters to what the audience wants—and the audience largely wants what I mentioned earlier: previews, reviews, hype, and celebration of titles they like. They never care to expand beyond that because the rest isn't important to them.
This has a tremendous impact on the economic viability of gaming journalism. The industry is reliant on two main advertisers: publishers and hardware vendors. They have tried for decades to diversify into meaningful lifestyle advertisers, but that never took root because gaming isn't really a lifestyle. It's a subjective activity centred around a group of titles.
So, if you are a publication (a video channel or newsletter) that only focuses on Fortnite, it's much easier to get advertising and branding deals because you have a clear gaming audience profile. This is the inherent flaw with 'cover everything' gaming publications. They are not aligned with how gaming audiences operate.
I agree that gaming should have objective "hard" journalism. But there isn't a large audience for that type of coverage. It's another niche. Hence why I think the likes of Substack and YouTube are better, because it can serve niches, and why "old" gaming media is dying, because it's unsustainable.
I'm seeing much more "hard" gaming journalism today than I've ever seen in my years in the industry. Once hard journalism found its niche publications, like yours, Game File, and many small YouTube channels, the amount of hard gaming news increased considerably because they found their audiences and can develop relative financial models.
It's a pity people are losing their livelihoods. But you can see the same in other entertainment markets, such as music and movies. Publishing is a volatile industry with thin margins and high costs. Yet, there too, you can see that niches are taking over.
The decline of Polygon and their peers was inevitable. They never served gaming the way gaming wanted to be served.
What a comment!
Reading all of this has genuinely changed how I think about this. And I think I'm starting to align with you on it -- makes a lot of sense. You obviously think about this a lot, and have gone through the maturity curve with the argument around this.
Putting it in buckets actually helps my thinking of it too. My issue was that the craft of journalism (where information is sourced via interview and verified) was being eroded by this, and audiences won't know the value of this until its gone. But you are right, its just moving.
I still do think there's an issue around hard stories and self-publishing. Like, if someone comes to me with an allegation of something, the best I can do is refer them to a larger newsroom with legal resourcing.
However, I can't fault your logic. Thanks for the really engaging back and forth!
I'll keep this thread in mind the next time this topic comes up.
It was a real shock. I've been reading Polygon for a ridiculously long time. It's hard to see the quality of its editorial content not dropping when the new owners dropped all the writers and, from what I can gather, don't particularly value journalistic quality.
A sad day for game news media.
I'm hopeful that a few Polygon stalwarts, like Maddy Myers, the Dept Editor, are still there. But to shed so many staff so suddenly -- when many of them have been there for decades. It's bloody grim. Vox was one of the good ones -- at least from the outside looking in.
The real tell will be how many of the original team last as time goes on. But its just a sad situation. Some people cheer the demise of media, but even though I'm very pro tech (given my day job) I'd never celebrate someone being put out of their livelihood.
Some of my work gamer circle are declaring games journalism and media dead with this news. I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment completely but it was shocking to hear nonetheless.
i hope that AI will spur creative changes in how news is reported or maybe an increase in opinion pieces...something that the AI is not great at doing. I guess I'm hoping it will spur an evolution of game writing as opposed to it's extinction.
I'd agree with that. Some of my clients have passed me AI-generated opinion, and wow, it's not good. I still have to overlay my PR expertise on it. Make it relevant, interesting and strangely not about Trump.
Games journalism generates too much traffic and interest to be dead. But Google and AI are killing just about anything that is traffic-dependant. Where once they helped in discovery, now its all about ease of information.
It makes sense, logically, as this has always been their goal. But in typical 'Big Tech' style, they've flipped the script without much warning on everyone who works on the internet, called it progress, and show little regard or concern for the consequences.
We'll see how this all pans out. Most mainstream press have insulated themselves after social media did the same thing, and built their own direct channels (such as subscriptions and email newsletters).
Polygon was a year into doing this -- with no subscription in sight, I would have paid for parts of it for sure -- perhaps that was the mistake?
Here's hoping that, despite Polygon's setbacks during the purchase, the quality of their articles is kept intact. But the trend of game media outlets being bought by bigger players make me uneasy with this prospect.
I'm hopeful to. The tell is actually volume.
If the number of articles declines, that's a sign that quality is trying to be maintained. If the articles increases, but with less resourcing, then that's a tell of the opposite (generally speaking.)
We'll see. But as I said, I'll continue to read.
Games journalism sites have been continually downsized/shut down consistently since the late 2000s, smack dab in the middle of the Great Recession.
I'd like to say I'm surprised when a site like Polygon or USGamer (RIP) or 1up.com (RIP) gets shuts down or becomes a shell of its former self, but I'm not.
With the advent of AI, I expect more of this thing to happen.
Also worth noting: for a sizable portion of the gamer population in the US, I don't think games journalism ever really recovered its reputation after GamerGate. If anything, that incident further divided gamers into the tribes we see them in today - at least here in the US.
Thought-provoking article, Harrison, thank you.
Great point re Gamergate! That’s awesome context for me. Something that’s hard to pick from Aus
It looks like games media is not immune to what happens with studios these days. Whales are swallowing smaller studios and companies for their IP / audience / projects, strip them from anyone they think they don’t need and most of them are losing their identity as a result, becoming just a cog in the big machine… I sincerely hope that won’t be the case for Polygon, but I wouldn’t hold my breath…
I've heard of instances where people move into games journalism (out of game design) because its more stable! Ha! And vice versa tbh.
But to continue your point, there's structural issues with both industries.
The games industry was fine (by its own standards, not by any other industry's), as long as it kept growing. That growth has slowed, and now all the structural issues that emerged are becoming bigger problems.
The games journalism industry, wasn't great to begin with, but was fine (again by its own standards) as long as it's seeing high traffic. But, my understanding, is that it drove most of its traffic from socials, Google, and other sources, rather than its own controlled channels.
Other media have pushed towards corporate partnerships and subscriptions. Games journalism remained readily free, fuelled by display ads generated to sell gaming merch. Was this the right move? Who knows? I don't!
As for Polygon, I'm interested to just see where it goes.
But he consolidation into a few large companies, focused on click farming for revenue, isn't generally a good path forward for the sector.
I agree with all of the above.
We are living during extremely unstable times when every few years tech industry as a whole reinvents itself and shifts from one big thing to the next. I'm sure that in 10 years the landscape will be completely different, even from what we are seeing today.
It's a shame, though, that every time this happens, tens of thousands of people have to lose their jobs in the process. I wish the industry would evolve to embrace change and adapt to ever-changing conditions of the market without sacrificing people in the process...
Back in college I used read Polygon on a daily basis, sad that it's going away. I know the site will remain operational but I can't help but think that the essence is long gone
We'll see what happens. I'm not writing it off, but yeah, a newsroom is the product of its team. And with so many cuts, its really taking the soul out of it. That's for sure.