The Verge's sibling gaming and entertainment website, Polygon, was sold by Vox Media to Valnet, a business that also owns ScreenRant, GameRant, and Android Police. According to online posts and internal communication delivered to Vox Media workers, some Polygon employees will stay running the publication according to its current owner. At the same time, other staff members have been let go. Over 27 distinct businesses that span industries like entertainment, gaming, sports, and travel are owned by Valnet. One previous contributor to a website under Valnet's control describes the conditions as "almost sweatshop-level" in a recent piece from TheWrap.
"This transaction will allow us to concentrate our efforts 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," stated Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media, in a statement. Bankoff also mentioned the current "uncertain economic outlook" and more general shifts in the gaming business as factors in the sale in his address to employees.
Chris Plante, the former editor-in-chief, declares, "I'm no longer with Polygon"."Please take into account the abundance of skilled writers and editors now available if you're hiring. They all deserve a place in your workforce. Since I wasn't engaged in the sale, I won't be discussing it further.
