Gametrailers gets bought, immediately lays off people

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abendlaender

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So Defy Media (which I never heard of though that's not saying anything) bought Gametrailers a few days ago and seemingly immediately started firing people, including the producer of GT.TV Jeffrey Hoffman, Ryan Stevens and who knows who else. This seems reaaaally shitty to me to be like "Yeah, thanks for the good work during the most stressfull time of the year. Also pack your stuff and get out of here, you are fired!"

Exciting times ahead for @GameTrailers And Defy. I just won't be part of it. Best of luck space cowboys.

— Ryan St.evens (@OtherWhiteTofu) June 13, 2014

My 10th #E3 complete, Friday the 13th and just got laid off from @Gametrailershttp://t.co/X29fQpfgtT

— Cheezus (@hofftv) June 13, 2014

Thought this was worth a thread.

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lapsariangiraff

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#2  Edited By lapsariangiraff

I wonder what positive outcome could possibly come from layoffs right after an acquisition. Doesn't seem great.

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kishinfoulux

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I remember Pachter saying this would happen and people immediately like "no it's not true". Sure enough he was right.

I don't really go there, but sucks to get fired right after E3 ends. That's really scummy.

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abendlaender

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They also fired Rohan Rivas and Daniel Kayser.

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Hailinel

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Marcus Beer is gone, too.

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Milkman

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@hailinel said:

Marcus Beer is gone, too.

He left like six months ago.

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deactivated-5b43dadb9061b

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BonOrbitz

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That's terrible!

I was wondering what was up with Gametrailers and GT.TV lately. The show hasn't been on Spike since... December, I think, and they didn't air their usual pre-E3 episodes.

Also, I read a post a couple of weeks ago on either Reddit or NeoGAF (so take it as a grain of salt) when I was looking for news about GT.TV's hiatus. The OP discussed that he was an ex-employee from Gametrailers and could explain why the last VGX were bad (clueless execs/Joel McHale was a last minute decision) and that he was let go around the time. If I recall correctly, he mentioned that the management at Viacom were looking to get rid of Gametrailers potentially.

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Dallas_Raines

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See, Pachter isn't always wrong.

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freakin9

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I liked gametrailers, when it wasn't trying to be anything other than a video content dump.

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Hailinel

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@milkman: Really? Damn, i'm out of the loop on that one.

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Ares42

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I thought this already happened... Or did they announce only the buy-out a while a go ? Could've sworn I read something about the GT staff being replaced.

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Yummylee

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Holy shit, Daniel Kayser?? That's crazy. I always thought he was a bit annoying with his 'hype man' persona (remember thinking he was OK on that Epic Battle Axe podcast when I used to listen to it during... I dunno, 2009-2010), but he was one of the most recognisable faces of the site all the same.

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MooseyMcMan

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That sucks! I hope those affected find new jobs.

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Bocam

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Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

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HellknightLeon

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Yeah! GiantBomb don't give a fuck! They are trash anyways.

Just messing... that sucks. That happened to me on Christmas Eve. I thought they knew better than to do that after an event. Fuck them.

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hans_maulwurf

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#17  Edited By hans_maulwurf

That's terrible. Haven't been to gametrailers in a while, but kinda enjoyed stuff like invisible walls a few years back. Best of luck to everyone affected.

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pr1mus

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  1. Buy a site.
  2. Fire everyone.
  3. Don't understand why no one visits anymore.
  4. Close the site 6 months later.

That's my prediction anyway.

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Quarters

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#19  Edited By Quarters

Yikes. That just really sucks for everyone involved.

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TheManWithNoPlan

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That's really just awful. I haven't frequented the site in years, but hopefully those fired find jobs

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Stealthmaster86

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@pr1mus said:
  1. Buy a site.
  2. Fire everyone.
  3. Don't understand why no one visits anymore.
  4. Close the site 6 months later.

That's my prediction anyway.

Pretty much. They have a lot of great original content too. One of the things I was looking forward too, which may not happen anymore, was the Metal Gear Timeline.

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Blu3V3nom07

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#22  Edited By Blu3V3nom07
No Caption Provided

Content is only as powerful as the connection

it makes with its audience

DEFY’s leading portfolio of brands are centered on

comedy, entertainment, gaming and lifestyle.

Our brands resonate with the digital generation because we share their interests and obsess over the same topics. It’s this powerful relationship between creator and audience that has built massive and deeply passionate communities across the content and screens that matter most to our audience — and it’s this personal level of engagement that’s the driving force behind our beloved brands.

http://www.defymedia.com/our-brands/

Break and escapist, eh? I thought Break turned out alright after it got bought out..

I always though The Bonus Round and Geoff Keighley's VGA's were weird vehicles to broadcasting this stuff on television. At some point, I would only skip around to certain parts of the Bonus Round. Hope this stuff turns out well. And it does suck for the layoffs people, too.

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abendlaender

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Just a quick update:

Lay-offs so far:
Ryan Stevens, Jeffrey Hoffman, Rob Slusser, Rohan Rivas, Rob Manual, Justin Speer and Daniel Kayser. At this rate GT is going to employ -2 people tomorrow morning.

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Deathstriker

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It always sucks when people lose their job, but much like with IGN, I got too much of a sponsored and bro vibe from Gametrailers. Subscribing to certain video game trailer Youtube channels kinda kills the purpose of their site and YT has way less ads.

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mike

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See, Pachter isn't always wrong.

Neither is a broken watch.

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Video_Game_King

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@bocam said:

Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

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Humanity

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@milkman said:

@hailinel said:

Marcus Beer is gone, too.

He left like six months ago.

I know it's a shitty thing to say but the man had a whole show about being "brutally honest" so in that same spirit, I don't think he'll be missed.

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Jimbo

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Giant Bomb should hire him.

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Hadoken101

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@pr1mus said:
  1. Buy a site.
  2. Fire everyone.
  3. Don't understand why no one visits anymore.
  4. Close the site 6 months later.

That's my prediction anyway.

So Screened all over again? (I just made myself kinda sad typing that)

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Zevvion

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I feel bad for DK. Always listen to EpicBattleCry. Hope he ends up some place good. It must suck getting fired when you have kids.

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erhard

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#31  Edited By erhard

@bocam said:

Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

The only reason to go to Gametrailers is to hear his voice.

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chaser324

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#32  Edited By chaser324  Moderator

@blu3v3nom07: Holy hell. That image of the other brands owned by Defy doesn't inspire confidence for the direction GT might take in the future - Made Man and Escapist do some decent stuff, but Smosh...

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Zevvion

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SomberOwl

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@mb said:

@dallas_raines said:

See, Pachter isn't always wrong.

Neither is a broken watch.

Awesome.

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MocBucket62

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This sucks! Best wishes to those who've been laid off.

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Milkman

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If that producer position for Giant Bomb is still open, Jeremy Hoffman would be a pretty good choice.

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jacksukeru

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@erhard said:

@video_game_king said:

@bocam said:

Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

The only reason to go to Gametrailers is to hear his voice.

He's actually like a founder or some other big-shot type-ish guy over there, I forget. He'll probably be the last of anyone to go, thankfully.

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Video_Game_King

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@erhard said:

@video_game_king said:

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

The only reason to go to Gametrailers is to hear his voice.

He's actually like a founder or some other big-shot type-ish guy over there, I forget.

I like to imagine he walked into a busy CEO board room, calmly announced, "I want to talk over video games", and then walked out with all the money in the world for his smooth, golden voice.

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thebunnyhunter

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#39  Edited By thebunnyhunter

Man i really like Daniel Kayser, he always seems optimistic and excited. Hope every one finds another gig soon.

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angouri

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@erhard said:

@video_game_king said:

@bocam said:

Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

The only reason to go to Gametrailers is to hear his voice.

He's actually like a founder or some other big-shot type-ish guy over there, I forget. He'll probably be the last of anyone to go, thankfully.

He's been asked to stay, ditto with Bloodworth. I really loved GT, they were doing some great editorial stuff recently.

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Raven10

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#41  Edited By Raven10

@angouri said:

@jacksukeru said:

@erhard said:

@video_game_king said:

@bocam said:

Who's the guy that does the voice overs for their reviews? Was he fired?

Brandon Jones? I'm pretty sure he's still around.

The only reason to go to Gametrailers is to hear his voice.

He's actually like a founder or some other big-shot type-ish guy over there, I forget. He'll probably be the last of anyone to go, thankfully.

He's been asked to stay, ditto with Bloodworth. I really loved GT, they were doing some great editorial stuff recently.

Seriously if Brandon Jones leaves GT then they might as well just stop making their own editorial content. The guy is known as the voice of GT for a reason. No one on the planet can read reviews like that guy. I seriously only go to GT to watch their video reviews and countdowns and I do that only because Brandon is so damn good at doing that stuff. I always hate in October and November when there are so many games to review that they have to get someone else to voice some of them. And when they put the reviews on GT.TV but had Daniel read them it just didn't work. Anyways, any news on Geoff? Is he staying with Spike or with GT?

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Castiel

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I just hope they didn't fire Kyle Bosman. He's like the only good thing that site got going for it.

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schlorgan

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#43  Edited By schlorgan

Can we just get Brandon Jones on Giant Bomb? I love that guy.

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TheHT

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Just a quick update:

Lay-offs so far:

Ryan Stevens, Jeffrey Hoffman, Rob Slusser, Rohan Rivas, Rob Manual, Justin Speer and Daniel Kayser. At this rate GT is going to employ -2 people tomorrow morning.

WHAT. Daniel Kayser was great!

Man, what a sucker punch. Come back from E3 and by the way pack your shit you're now unemployed.

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adoggz

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Yeah, this is kinda shitty but at the same time its gametrailers. They haven't exactly been killing it ... ever I guess.

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AMyggen

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#46  Edited By AMyggen

@pr1mus: Yup, this looks like the 1up situation. Haven't visited GT for some time, but used to visit the site every day some years ago. Daniel Kayser et al, I hope you guys land okay!

Brandon Jones staying has been confirmed. He's the co-founder of the site.

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DisposableUser

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@pr1mus said:
  1. Buy a site.
  2. Fire everyone.
  3. Don't understand why no one visits anymore.
  4. Close the site 6 months later.

That's my prediction anyway.

So Screened all over again? (I just made myself kinda sad typing that)

BermanBraun/Whalerock never seemed that they wanted Screened; they just wanted Tested/Whiskey Tech. So, it's not like it was a loss for them. (Now I'm even more bummed typing that)

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Quantris

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See, Pachter isn't always wrong.

what was that about a broken clock?

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DrDarkStryfe

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It wasn't immediate. The staff knew it was coming, they just did not know the details. Pachter tweeted because he thought it was going down then, where in fact it was just the start of meetings.

Where the pieces fall after an acquisition is not a thing decided overnight. It just looks even more terrible due to the timing

Good luck to those not staying on. A lot of good talant is out thete that will make any place better.