Polygon, The Verge’s sister site dedicated to gaming and entertainment, has been sold by Vox Media to Valnet, a company that owns brands like ScreenRant, GameRant, and Android Police. Some Polygon staffers will continue with the publication under its new owner, while others have been laid off, according to posts online and an internal message sent to Vox Media employees.
Valnet owns more than 27 different brands that cover areas like entertainment, gaming, sports, and travel. A recent report from TheWrap includes one former contributor to a site under Valnet’s purview describing conditions as “almost sweatshop-level.”
“Perfectly aligned with Valnet’s long-term growth strategy, Polygon will now integrate Valnet’s Gaming Portfolio, which includes industry-leading publications such as Game Rant, TheGamer, Fextralife, OpenCritic, DualShockers, and HardcoreGamer,” the company said in a press release. “This addition follows Valnet’s recent acquisition of FextraLife earlier this year, further strengthening its position in the gaming media landscape. With Valnet’s proven operational excellence, Polygon is poised to reach new editorial heights through focused investment and innovation.”
Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff said in a statement that “this transaction will enable us to focus our energies and investment resources in other priority areas of growth across our portfolio of iconic digital publications and audio / video programming, while enabling Valnet to grow their leadership and authority in the gaming information category.” In his message to staff, Bankoff also cited the current “uncertain economic outlook” and broader changes in the gaming industry as contributing reasons to the sale.
“I’m no longer with Polygon,” says former editor-in-chief Chris Plante. “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.”
We’ve collected additional posts from some affected staffers below.