Video Game Media Companies Are Creating A Problem

It’s upsetting that we’ve seen significant layoffs at G4, Fanbyte, and Future in just one week. Dozens of talented, passionate, and highly qualified journalists, editors, producers, and more are spending the end of the week a lot differently than they planned in the beginning. It gets back to something we see too often in the corporate media world across industries. Lately, it just seems like significant companies continue to screw up video games media in a special, messed-up way. It really comes down to them having no idea what they’re destroying.

I’ve only worked in the games journalism space as a freelancer, but I can imagine the feeling of elation that must come from getting a full-time offer for a video game outlet as a writer, reviewer, content creator, or any role really. It’s a feeling that I felt getting my first job at NPR, where I dreamed I might work one day if a million things fell into the right place. I’m in the nonprofit communications world now and loving it, mostly because I’m valued in a way that makes me feel appreciated and seen.

The same can’t be said of many video game journalists, particularly at outlets that see games media as a revenue driver. Of course, these businesses will look to profits as a sign of success. It’s silly to tell them not to. Why else would they own and operate a website? I couldn’t care less whether they make their bottom line, but it’s the reality of why they enter the sphere in the first place. The gaming industry makes billions and billions of dollars across numerous spaces.

What happens, however, is that from the moment an incredible team is assembled at a site like G4, Fanbyte, or Future, the clock is ticking. The time for these experienced, knowledgeable journalists to help turn this company’s investment into a return is ticking. As if any journalistic outlet makes money hand over fist in its early days, no matter its staff, yet the company begins wondering if things don’t turn around what they’ll do. This all occurs from the moment a new, highly anticipated site goes live.

I’m not giving expert insight into the world of media companies. What do I even know? Well, I know this: video game media companies have no clue what they’re destroying when they take the best of the best and place them in a situation where they cannot succeed. Who in their right mind runs a business with the goal of draining every ounce of passion and creativity from writers and minds that love what they do. They love it so much that they clock out for the day and spend time with the same media they spend all day stressing about, thanks to mindless performance indicators and corporate executives who don’t understand the industry they seem so desperate to squeeze dollars out of.

People don’t get let go in these sorts of mishandled mass layoffs that could have been avoided if the media company understands how media journalism works beyond the bottom line. Jobs weren’t the only thing lost this week. People’s confidence, professional identity, and drive might take weeks, months, or even years to recover from something like this. All because decision-makers ask fervently productive professionals to give 120% or else decide that 120% wasn’t enough. It’s just not translating to the right amount of return on the balance sheets.

I’m furious, heartbroken, and troubled by the trajectory of games media. Some of the top talents in games media have gone on to work in different parts of the games industry for this same foresight. Rather than applaud them for getting out before their head is on the chopping block, we should contemplate what leads its most recognized thinkers to leave for other avenues or scramble for a backup plan when things go wrong.

Without games journalism, we would not have investigations into abuse in corporate gaming, nor would we know the crunch and workplace malpractice that goes into our favorite games. Games journalism makes us more ethical consumers in a growing industry ripe with opportunities to take advantage of developers and producers in the same way these mega-corporations take advantage of the people covering the stories.

It’s hard to enjoy video games when this is the reality of the people who spend the majority of their lives supporting its lifeblood. Developers and journalists alike give everything to this form of entertainment we enjoy and love. They get chewed up, spit out, and asked to try even harder next time or else face rejection from the industry. My heart and thoughts are with everyone who experienced a layoff this week or is now left wondering if they are next.