Vox Media sells gaming site Polygon
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Vox Media on Thursday announced it is selling its gaming and entertainment site Polygon to Canadian company Valnet.
Why it matters: The deal is part of a broader effort by the media company to streamline its portfolio and invest in its biggest brands.
Zoom in: In a Thursday note to staff, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff said some Polygon staffers will join Valnet. Others will be laid off with the transaction while some will remain with the company and be transitioned over to Vox Media's tech news brand, The Verge.
- "Making this change allows us to better prioritize our strongest opportunities for growth," Bankoff said. "The sale also helps reduce risk related to the uncertain economic outlook, with our top priority always being the long-term strength of the company."
- Valnet owns a portfolio of media brands across entertainment, gaming, automotive, sports, travel and technology including ScreenRant, GameRant and Android Police.
Zoom out: Gaming journalism has proven challenging for general news publishers to monetize and integrate within their portfolios.
- In 2023, The Washington Post shuttered its gaming vertical, Launcher, and Vice Media ended WayPoint.
- In 2024, GameStop shut down Game Informer, which was recently relaunched by game developer Gunzilla.
The big picture: Vox Media is one of the few digital media holding companies from the 2010s era that has managed to remain independent.
- The company previously made several large acquisitions, including the parent company to New York magazine and Group Nine Media to create a much larger portfolio of digital media brands.
- Amid advertising volatility following the pandemic, Vox Media started to shed and consolidate efforts to improve its balance sheet. The company spun out NowThis and conducted several rounds of layoffs.
