More Layoffs Hit Games Media
G4TV, Future Publishing, and Fanbyte employees lose their jobs this week.
Sadly, it is another week where games media companies suffer layoffs, but what’s different this time around is all the people that were let go worked for media outlets funded by huge conglomerates who aren’t really struggling financially.
Were these outlets unsuccessful in the content they were trying to produce or were they simply the victims of bottom-line accountants looking to cut some fat from budgets to make the books look better in the name of austerity during lean times? It’s likely the latter and not the former. My heart goes out to everyone affected by these cuts; I hope you will stay in games journalism but it’s a tough space to be in because there’s no real appreciation or an understanding of value from executives and bean counters on the difficult jobs we all do.
Let’s get into this a little more, as well as this week’s biggest moves in esports and gaming. - James Fudge.
G4, FanByte, and Future Cut Staff
Tencent-owned gaming website FanByte, Comcast Spectacor-owned G4TV, and multiple Future Publishing-owned outlets were hit with layoffs this week.
UK-based Future Publishing revealed a number of layoffs across multiple outlets to take place throughout the month including TechRadar Gaming, Android Central, Windows Central, and iMore. Earlier in the week Future predicted full-year profits between £269M ($306.23M USD) and £271M ($308.51M) to be recorded at the end of September…
On Thursday, a majority of the staff at Tencent-owned Fanbyte were cut, one-by-one in a slow painful layoff process that ultimately saw the editor-in-chief, features editor, head of media, social media editor, news editor, graphic designer, podcast producer, and several writers let go. The News Editor Imran Khan was laid off while he was sleeping… In August Tencent posted its first loss ever for the quarter, which led to 5,000 of its employees being laid off around the world.
Earlier in the week Comcast Spectacor laid off 20-30 staff members at G4TV, which creates live entertainment programming using high-profile streamers and content creators on such platforms as Twitch, YouTube, and linear TV. The company has not made any public statements about the layoffs as of this writing.
Bonnie Ross Exits Microsoft/343 Industries
Bonnie Ross announced that she would leave her role as corporate VP at Microsoft and as head of Halo studio 343 Industries. Ross has worked at Microsoft for more than 17 years in various roles but is best known for her leadership in shaping the popular Xbox and PC shooter franchise and subsequent esports initiatives. She joined Microsoft in 1994 as a studio manager and executive producer, but she took her first steps as the leader of 343 Industries in 2007 when she took on the role of general manager. Ross did not indicate where she is headed next, saying only that she was leaving to attend to a family medical issue.
Departures Continue at Galaxy Racer
Something strange is going on at Dubai-based Galaxy Racer; over the last several months executives have quietly been leaving the company (or resigning) and this week two more have exited: Galaxy Racer Creator Operation Manager Silkria Margatama (based in Jakarta, Indonesia) and Country Manager for Malaysia and Singapore Melvyn Lim. A recent post by Lim paints a dire picture for the company, noting in a farewell post on LinkedIn that, “There's too much happening there that's out of my hands but I hope the management team sorts it all out in due time.”
GameSquare Goes on Hiring Spree
Complexity Gaming and GCN owner GameSquare has added several new members to its executive team this week: Jill Peters has been appointed to the role of chief operating officer (GameSquare), Paolo DiPasquale to chief strategy officer (GameSquare), Bee Yancey takes on the role of head of partnerships and brand experience (GameSquare), Jessey Finizio is appointed to the role of VP of sponsorship sales (Complexity Gaming), Greg Hampton is named director of sponsorship sales (Complexity Gaming), Jon "Blackbeard" Schmid is appointed social media director (Complexity Gaming), Stephanie Cohen is appointed to the role of senior director of brand partnerships (GCN), and Jack McAuliffe tackles the role of senior director of West Coast sales (GCN).
People on the Move
Here is this week’s list of promotions, hires, and departures in the gaming/esports industry:
Esports:
Shaun Clark has been promoted to senior director game ecosystems - CS:GO at ESL FACEIT Group.
Eli McCarrel is named VP, global brand partnerships, head of Americas, at ESL FACEIT Group.
James Deasey joins ESL FACEIT Group as partnership manager.
Vince Ang is promoted to the role of replay operator at ESL FACEIT Group.
James Kent is promoted to global commercial partnerships director at ESL FACEIT Group.
Leslie K. Bender Jutzi joins the UKnightedXP team.
Bonnie Qu joins Team Liquid as a copy writer.
Charles Spencer joins Washtenaw Community College as an esports coach.
Sam Lessani found a new home after Dignitas at Mutiny as its new connections strategist, gaming.
TSM League of Legends Championship Series Coach and Scout Jack Charles exits the company after more than two years in the role.
Seasoned esports marketing and partnerships exec Joe Hills will join Activision Blizzard as its new project manager - brand partnerships.
Chantal-Denise Ortega takes on a freelance brand partnerships manager gig at Galaxy Racer in North America.
Michael Woolgar joins virtual esports stadium company Virtex as a quality assurance manager.
Gaming:
Elias Andersson joins Mojang as community manager.
Andy Nelson joins Blizzard Entertainment as a material artist on Diablo IV.
Steven Cole joins Blizzard Entertainment as senior producer.
Brandy Stiles joins Blizzard Entertainment as a senior producer of character development on the Overwatch 2 game team.
Melissa Gran joins EA Sports as the development director for FIFA.
Abhijeet Nawsagare takes on the role of technical art director, sports technology at EA Sports.
Christian Pulla joins EA Sports as a new character artist for the Madden series.
Emma Sui is promoted to community lead at EA.
Brandi House joins developer ProbablyMonsters as general manager.
Brandy Camel joins ProbablyMonsters as a narrative design producer.
Om Tandon is promoted to the role of head of market intelligence & UX at Wildlife Studios.
Yaroslava Yudina is no longer with Ukraine-based developer NeoGames and is looking for work as a 2D artist.
Proxy Joy joins Lila Games as a concept artist.
Other:
Andrew Reiner leaves his long-time role as editor-in-chief at Game Informer to take a job in the video games industry...
Ari Notis takes on the new role as guides editor at gaming publication Polygon.
Tate Kelly leaves his role as director of corporate partnerships at the Tennessee Titans to join PlayFy Sports as its new senior director of multi property national sales.
CAA combat sports agent Marquel Martin leaves the agency to launch a new management company focused on Web3.
Michael Mignano joins Lightspeed Venture Partners as a partner.
Ryan Musselman joins Cinemark as VP of gaming and innovation.
David Schaefer is named VP of communications at TMRW Sport, a new company founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley.
Jeff Bangsberg is promoted to the role of Twitch channel producer at Universal Music Group.
Chris Loranger takes on an advisor role at Shima Capital.
In Other News…
💰 The Saudi Arabian government has big plans for esports and gaming worth billions of dollars.
💪 Call of Duty Mobile enjoys 300M downloads, generates $1B in revenue to-date.
🔎 U.S. lawmakers question TikTok on user data access in China.
🛑 NBC and NYT workers are pushing back on return to office policies…
💔 U.S. inflation proves stubborn, recovery elusive in August…
🐤 Shareholders approve the takeover Elon Musk doesn’t want.
🙏 Tencent Charity Foundation donates $105K in supplies to Pakistan flood relief efforts.
Want to highlight your latest hire? Looking to promote a new job opening? Drop me a line at jamesbfudge@gmail.com with the subject line “People on the Move.”