Greed Just Ripped Apart the Foundation of The Escapist — But Its Former Employees Are Far From Done
Sigh. The game industry isn’t what it used to be.
The games are still as great as ever, and indies are thriving, as much as I had hoped they would. But the state of the industry is in turmoil, shrouded by greed and money over actually hyping the games themselves.
If you need a good example of that, take a good, hard look at what’s happened with The Escapist.
Once considered one of the best gaming sites out there, it essentially caved in on itself this week when Escapist’s parent company, the dreaded Gamurs, decided to unceremoniously fire its Editor-In-Chief, Nick Calandra. And why? Because of their utterly ridiculous standards. If you can call them that.
Calandra noted in a tweet, “I was let go for ‘not achieving goals’ that were never properly set out for us, and lack of understanding of our audience and the team that built that audience.” He also noted how he saw several colleagues let go for the same reason, and “today was my day!”
That said, it created a landslide that Gamurs probably didn’t see coming. Several employees followed Calandra out the door, including Yahtzee Croshaw (love that name), the host of the weekly video series Zero Punctuation. You’ve probably seen this series — it was one of the best around, with Yahtzee not holding back as he relentlessly reviewed games week in and week out. I’d include a sample if it didn’t support the remnants of The Escapist, but I’m sure you’ve seen it.
So, basically, we’ve seen the end of The Escapist, as far as we know it. Gamurs will likely fill in the blanks with less talented people, writing stuff that will easily get them clicks instead of, I dunno, meaningful content? And, of course, that also means Zero Punctuation has bitten the dust, bringing an end to that particular era as well.
It’s just sad though. Once again we have an example of how corporate thinking has essentially proven victorious over the people that matter. We saw it just days prior at Bungie, where executives refused to give up their high-end pay and fancy new facility, instead opting to fire employees just over a year after promising they wouldn’t be having layoffs.
But don’t weep too hard. Calanda and Croshaw aren’t done yet.
In a new tweet, the two announced Second Wind, an all-new site that will be run directly by them, with many of their former co-workers joining them in the fray. You can actually watch their video introduction below, and though they don’t have much content up yet, give them time. They will.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes more of a trend in 2024. We’re starting to see more and more gaming websites focus on drama rather than the games that matter (looking at you, The Gamer), and corporate entities backing them in the hopes of them getting clicks, until it gets to the point that they think they aren’t needed anymore and eventually replace them with AI rubbish.
That, in turn, could inspire more people to take the indie route, like Second Wind is, and hopefully create a turnaround where it’s more about the creators and not the corporate bigwigs pouring cash into their pocket while others suffer for their mistakes. The dream, I suppose.
We’ll see what the new year brings. But, honestly, writing for yourself may just be the best way to approach gaming. Will you make a zillion (billion?) dollars in the process? Hardly. But you’ll feel better about it in the long run, instead of tiring yourself out writing 14 Fortnite pieces a day before being told that your work wasn’t worth anything. I’ve felt that before and, honestly, vow to never feel that way again.
Here’s to the crew of the Second Wind. I hope you guys soar like eagles. Yes, even Yahtzee. He’s rad sauce.
Also, side note. Big thanks to Paul Tassi for his insight on the matter. He writes good stuff over there at Forbes and you should definitely check it out, even with the ads.
Have a great week, everyone!
