Last month, IGN suffered its latest wave of brutal cuts. Longtime hosts Brian Altano and Seth Macy were among those fired. They are now launching their own independent gaming podcast network called X Button alongside Max Scoville, who also left the organization amid its latest strategy shift. The news comes as IGN himself is moving away from his well-known gaming podcasts, Kotaku understand.
“A few weeks ago, you know, there was a slight change in the lineup at our old employer, and now we’re in the great unknown and doing something brand new,” Altano said in the inaugural episode of one of the group’s new shows. “And I hope that in that moment, the moment you hear this, we will all cry tears of joy because it worked.”
Hosted on Patreon, the group offers two podcasts so far. The first is called X buttona general game show, and the second is called Ninfriendo 64a show dedicated to Nintendo. “We’ll cover gaming news, new game releases, and the classic games we still love today, all with the insight, passion, and humor you’ve come to expect from us,” reads the About X Button page. “We’re bringing our years of experience and inviting dozens of gaming industry peers, game developers, voice actors and more as guests, all for every listener and viewer we’ve touched along the way. We’re creating something brand new that also feels familiar.”
Before last month’s layoffs, Altano and Scoville co-hosted IGNThe weekly PlayStation show Beyond! and Macy was a longtime co-host of the Nintendo-themed podcast CNV. Following the restructuring, Beyond! is currently on hiatus and CNV will no longer release weekly episodes.
Unblocked, IGNThe Xbox-themed podcast hasn’t released a new episode since October 1. Kotaku understands that Game scoopco-hosted by site veteran Daemon Hatfield, will be the only show still posting regularly. According to a source close to the discussions, staff were informed by site management that the rest of the shows were not generating enough revenue to devote weekly resources to them.
Withdrawing from podcasts is an unexpected decision for one of the first to have adopted this medium, especially since other media groups like The ringtone and podcast network Vox Media is doubling its efforts to produce conversational video content. Some have even struck deals with streaming platforms like Netflix to stream shows directly alongside movies and TV. Quite funnyanother podcast network launched e.g.IGN staff, showed that the model can still be lucrative.
“We have been let down,” reads X Button’s speech to new subscribers. “The careers that we put so much passion and love and expertise into for so long were gone instantly. We lost everything, suddenly and unexpectedly. And it really, really sucked. But then we got thousands of comments and messages telling us to keep going. So we’re picking up the pieces and doing just that. And we’re bringing our community, our peers, and our years of experience with us. Because we know we want to keep doing this crazy, fun thing, and we want you to be there with us.”
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