IGN Entertainment has made a major acquisition in the video game journalism industry. According to GamesIndustry.Biz, IGN has acquired Gamer Network, a video game brand that comprises a number of popular video game news outlets in Europe. These websites include Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, VG247, Dicebreak, and GamesIndustry.biz.
Before being acquired by IGN, Gamer Network was owned by pop culture events company ReedPop, which moved to sell it in 2023.
Gamer Network assets not included in the acquisition are EGX, MCM UK-based Events, or Popverse. The amount sold by Gamer Network remains undisclosed.
Unsurprisingly, news sites within the Gamer Network are predicting layoffs. According to editors at The Verge, Gamesindustry.biz and Rock Paper Shotgun, employees have already been fired over separate social media posts. Two of his editors, Gamesindustry.Biz editor-in-chief Brendan Sinclair and Rock Paper Shotgun deputy editor Alice Bell, are also among those currently out of work.
“I got fired and need a new job. Maybe it's games journalism, maybe it's something else in games, maybe it's not even games at all,” Sinclair wrote on Bluesky. “We are considering all possibilities at this time, so if you think I might be a good fit for you, please get in touch.”
However, the official number of layoffs is unlikely to be revealed until a later date.
