In a recent post I pondered about the rumours that AOL were likely to close Joystiq and furthermore that this would probably mean the end of Massively. This has now been confirmed by Massively : Massively-that-was :
This week, we learned our AOL overlords have decided that they no longer wish to be in the enthusiast blog business and are shutting all of them down. This mass-sunset includes decade-old gaming journalism icon Joystiq, and therefore, it includes us. February 3rd, 2015, will be the final day of operation for Massively-that-was.
However in a game of prunes, TechCrunch report : AOL To Lay Off About 150 People, Mostly In Sales; Folding Joystiq, TUAW Into Engadget :
Some more details are emerging around AOL’s reorganization plans. Sources tell us that the company will lay off around 150 people, with the majority in sales. As part of it, AOL is also consolidating some websites. Gaming site Joystiq and Apple news site TUAW are both being folded into Engadget
Whereas Gamasutra report :
Joystiq recently celebrated the ten-year anniversary of its launch, in 2004, as a spinoff of AOL’s tech-focused blog Engadget. Going forward, Engadget is expected to take up some of Joystiq and Massively’s responsibilities for game industry reporting.
Unfortunately none of these folding exercises look likely to save any jobs for Massively staff.
Continue reading “Massively Will Bite The Dust February 3rd 2015”