Colin Moriarty Leaves Kinda Funny

He announced it on Facebook a couple hours ago.

It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness that I announce my resignation from Kinda Funny, effective immediately.

This morning, the guys and I had a constructive conversation, and feel that, with our separate visions for the future and for the direction of the company, it’s time to go our separate ways. I want to be clear that this was my decision. Just as we collaborated as friends, so too do we part. I hope you continue to support them. I simply want to reconnect with what’s most important to me. Politics, history, philosophy. Reading books. Talking about things I feel are most impactful and essential for a person like me.

I want to thank everyone for their support of me -- and us -- over these years. When I started writing about games professionally in 2002 as a freshman in college, never, ever, did I think I’d reach the heights I did. I owe a great deal to an audience that generously sustained me, supported me, and followed me, and I also owe a lot to those who gave me opportunities to begin with. I will always remember and be grateful for this entire experience.

Opportunities are already popping up for me, bringing me in a new, different, and exciting direction, a direction that I feel makes perfect sense for me. Obviously, you haven’t seen or heard the last of me. Far from it. I hope that when I return with what’s next, you will support me there, just as you’ve supported me over these many years.

Could he be a fit for GB West?

I would rather not.

Did you post this just to see him get flamed? I like the dude but he would not remotely be a good fit for Giantbomb. He is leaving games media from my understanding.

I wish him the best of luck, but I don't know that he'd be a good fit for GB.

I think Colin left to pursue something in politics. Listening to him speak about games over the past few months it sort of seemed like he was losing interest in talking about games. He has been far more vocal about politics lately. This has been something that has been brewing for a while I feel like. It's a bummer, but it might be for the best. So no, Colin will not be going to Giant Bomb.

How is it that every time anyone in the industry leaves their job people automatically think they will come to Giant Bomb? I'm not trying to be mean to anyone here but it's a real weird phenomenon.

I also don't think Colin would fit in with GB at all, especially if he wants to get back in touch with "politics, history, philosophy.." and "impactful" topics overall. I mean if talking about Fast and the Furious is impactful to Colin then maybe, but otherwise I doubt it.

This. It probably won't take long for this thread to turn into a shitshow.

Anyway, lately he's been leaning more on the themes he mentioned, such as politics, history and philosophy, even participating on podcasts related to said themes and stuff like that. For as much as he was into videogames, it always seemed that those themes were his actual passions. It's no surprise that he's going to pursue them

Yeah I got agree with the rest so far, seems less like he's moving to pursue other interests, most likely outside of games all together.

Greg Miller being so upfront about how the tweet was more a symptom of some of the divide going on is kind of a nice gesture though. Companies really don't have to be upfront about these type of things but obviously games journalism in particular tries to be a bit more open due to how audience driven it is. Still pretty shit timing for all of that though, and makes you wonder how much influence the controversial tweet really had.

I think he might be leaving Games media altogether and that facebook post certainly sounds like it. The little I've heard him talk about games lately, he seemed to be losing the passion for them. Kinda like when Adam Sessler checked out games media.

Colin was on Glen Beck today, on the Rubin Report last week. Wouldn't surprise me to see him to go a more political based site like The Blaze or Heat Street or do his own patreon where he just run his own thing.

So no I don't think he's good fit for GB West at all. He certainly would bring a different political perspective but he can be really really bluntly abrasive that I don't think would be good for a business reliant on good natured relations with subscribers.

I'm not a regular of Kinda Funny but I always enjoyed the rapport between Greg and Colin. I don't think the twitter drama that happened this weekend was fully the cause. I think it was just the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to him making the decision to finally leave.

*guy says he's leaving games journalism* "So when do you start at Giant Bomb West?"

Maybe now I can start enjoying Kinda Funny. Will have to check it out.

Which resulted in Greg's response, here:

Greg is basically saying Moriarty doesn't reflect Kinda Funny's values, and given that he's basically one half Kinda Funny, this seems like a pretty clear catalyst for change for both Moriarty and Kinda Funny.

Colin was the only reason I checked into Kinda Funny and his voice in this incredibly almost comically liberal press scene was refreshing. I didn't always agree with him but he is incredibly smart and a politics focused show would suit him better at this point.

Aw man, that's a bummer. Nothing against the other guys, they're all awesome, but Colin was easily my favorite part of Kinda Funny.

@kcin: throwing Colin under the bus for his obviously joking tweet seemed gross, but if Greg really believed that I guess he should feel good to post that but man the outrage over that joke is so melodramatic like many outrages in this industry

@artisanbreads: surely you're not indicating giant bomb isn't a real game journalism?

lul, absolutely not.

he's clearly changing his career focus, and controversy aside (though i don't think that can be discounted- pretty sure any employer wouldn't watch to touch that with a 40ft. pole), i think he'd gel terribly with gb west.

@grayfox666: It sounds like there is more going on behind the scenes than just a bad tweet. I've never liked Colin even going back to his IGN days. Something about the guy has always rubbed me wrong but it's a sad way to go that's for sure.

As much as I personally don't like the guy and disagree with a lot of what he says, this is a loss to games coverage. I can't think of any other prmoment game critic who isn't on the political left, his views and insight where divisive sure but pretty unique.

Wow, that's pretty nuts. I could see Kinda Funny imploding over this.

@zirilius: I agree Colin had not been meshing as well for a while nowand while I didn't think the tweet was funny I don't understand why people get so outraged over such small meaningless things

I honestly don't want to see him join GB but I also don't think that was ever going to happen anyways. Besides it sounds like he wants to do something completely unrelated to games.

@grayfox666 said:

I really don't understand how game media has become what it is. The groupthink is disturbing.

Wow, he has "Notaxation" as a twitter handle, so edgy. Because taxation is theft!? Right guys? Isn't that cool, and anti-establishment.... Guys? Guys!? I need attention!!

Gotta say from what i've seen of this duderino i'm not a fan.

Colin and Nick are the only guys i liked on that crew. Colin is a really smart guy and has well formed opinions on almost everything even if you disagree you can tell that he takes his time to think before he speaks. Nick is just really funny, this is a shame i could tell eventually there would be backlash against him since he doesn't really conform to the opinions of the video game industry being that it's so liberal and he is not.

@mikemcn: I dunno, I've never really followed the guy (or used twitter) but my first thought was that he was quoting the Revolutionary slogan. Which would fit for a guy self-described as "into politics, history, philosophy," rather than trying to be "edgy."

I think the only thing I've ever seen from Kinda Funny was the Kickstarter stream for Igarashi's new not-Castlevania, but still while I disagree with what views I've heard Colin takes, it does seem like a loss to me since you don't have a particularly wide range of political views in games journalism. Or at least among sane games journalism.

I think it's just referencing "no taxation without representation".

This thread has a one way ticket to lock-ville.

Good luck to him. I hope it was amicable.

Lock this thread up and throw away the key!

Saying that this has more to do with games media than it does with running a business that operates on monthly payments from its patrons (who could cancel at any time and for any reason) is pretty myopic.

This type of thing happens every day, in every industry. When you're the public face of a company, don't be a dick in public. That's just the way it is.

Oh, hell no. Fuck that guy.

To be honest the whole thing on Colin's part feels super intentional. He's always been way into politics and never has much of a chance to talk about it, and he knows very well how people react to the sort of stupid "jokes" like the one he made on International Women's Day. The fact that he's been flirting around with Dave Rubin and Glen Beck make it pretty obvious to me he's trying to springboard from this controversy right into being some new gaming figure for the alt-right crowd. Afterall, Milo left an opening for someone to fill. I'm sure the usual simple-minded people will eat that shit up. It's pretty shitty that he basically inflamed tensions, refused to back down an inch, threw all the burden on the rest of Kinda Funny, and then ditched them.

I liked some of Colin's stuff over the years, but he's very opinionated on politics and that just opens you up to criticism on the internet. Especially since the games industry tends to skew more liberal.

Hope he does well in whatever he pursues next.

Wish him all the best.

While I agree with you the games media tends to lean more liberal, I would argue that just seems on the face. Remember labels are awful, we can't speak to the direct political opinions about any of the GB crew for example because they really don't often give them. In fact they make it a point not too, which I also feel is a tendency of games media as well. There is this agreed upon montra that the political climate sucks, and bringing in that type of talk regardless of how you vote tends to turn everything into a shit storm of reductionist thinking. Which often isn't healthy or good for anything and is often literally turns into online troll wars.

So while there is certainly room for political talk on games, I don't think it really has it's place here for reasons that I think have nothing to do with being more or less liberal.

@marokai: No offesne but have you ever watched or read any content Colin was made, because that sounds nothing like him and it seems you dont know really anything he is about. He left his party over the election of Donald Trump and while his views are the opposite of basically every single other person in the gaming press it doesnt mean hes alt-right in fact the opposite of the rest of the gaming press is basically moderate.

I think the GBwest could use a new positive/energetic/goofball figure, now, with both Dan and Drew gone. Colin is certainly not that guy.

@mikemcn: it's less cool to be judgmental of someone because your interpretation of their two word twitter as a nuanced political stance, in all of the most troll-like way.

I've never liked Colin, he's too arrogant and abrasive. It's probably for the best he has left, for both him and KF. To the question of him going GB, I couldn't think of a worse match up. He's diametrically opposed to most of the crew, and I'm not sure they're too keen on him to begin with. It would be awful. Best of luck to Colin, I guess.

@devise22 said:

They've made their fair share of political tweets, but their opinions tend to be the right ones according the outrage machine so there's no hubbub.

@marokai: I think it was more of arguing why some people across this country (though not more than half) found appeal in Trump and who aren't racist, but I cant disagree that he has changed in this election cycle and it felt more and more detached from the rest of Kinda Funny content. I only took issue with calling him alt-right.

@marokai: I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to your statements. Also take a look at the people he followed on Twitter immediately after he "resigned" from KF. Total shitheads like Steven Crowder and Jon Jafari.

This kind of topic isn't appropriate. This guy has nothing to do with Giant Bomb and whatever he says is his business. Also, if you want to talk about Kinda Funny, they have venues for that kind of thing.