IGN Explains Voodoo Extreme Layoffs, Seeks To Continue SiteWord comes today that IGN has cut the entire staff of IGN Voodoo Extreme, a site that was founded in 1997 and acquired by IGN in 2003. According to the site's FAQ, it receives over 1 million unique visitors per month, but apparently it's not enough to keep the staff paid.
Sheila “Jube” Lewis, the editor-in-chief of Voodoo Extreme, posted on VE3D about the situation: “Just wanted to let you all know that due to economic hardships, the staff budget at Voodoo Extreme was cut yesterday. We've been offered the opportunity to stay on in a volunteer capacity, but the future of VE3D is unknown. For the last 10 years I've worked within the GameSpy, and then IGN network, in one form or another. So I'm thinking of chaining myself to something at the IGN office. Maybe they have a really large Pikachu or something. Note: This is not goodbye, we are still going to do everything in our power to keep things going.”
IndustryGamers reached Peer Schneider, SVP of Content & Publisher at IGN, and asked him to comment on the site's closure. “We reduced our freelance spending – and VE3D was unfortunately one of the areas affected,” said Schneider. “VE3D has been a labor of love for a while. The writers are passionate, but it’s been difficult to fund VE3D's operations on an ongoing basis.”
What's next for the site, with the staff budget being cut? “We’re kicking around ideas on what to do with the site and domain. One idea our community manager put forth is to let passionate members of the VE3D community drive on a volunteer basis, but there are no specific plans yet.”
