IGN has confirmed that they have had some editorial layoffs today (an unknown amount), as well as shuts down at 1UP, Gamespy and UGO.
Employees affected by the layoffs and closures have taken to Twitter about their lost jobs, and obvious need for new work. Although IGN’s sister sites are being shut down, itself and Askmen will remain open.
“We are focusing on our two flagship brands, IGN and AskMen. Unfortunately, as a result, we have made the decision to close sites and restructure our teams accordingly,” an IGN spokesperson confirmed to Joystiq.
1UP editor Jeremy Parish, has tweeted 1UP would not be killed today, and added that he will post his thoughts later on the site. UGO’s editor in chief however, has let us know that “UGO is dead” and that the site is done. Gamespy has yet to make any sort of comment on their site about the closure.
IGN and its sister sites were purchased recently by j2 Global through its Ziff Davis subsidiary, notably for much less then originally bought for. There were mixed reactions regarding that purchase, whether it would be positive to have some new blood in or bad. Ultimately it didn’t turn out well for IGN as unfortunately j2 Global is known its hankering for lay-offs. But in the end – if the sites aren’t making the money, there’s not much to do for them.
With all that being said, will you miss long time gaming sites like IUP.com and UGO?