Layoffs Hit IGN Editorial

At least four members of IGN Entertainment's editorial team have been laid off, according to reports coming out of the company today. Dana Jongewaard, IGN's editor-in-chief for "expanded audience," posted on Facebook today that she has left the company after starting there in 2009. During her tenure, Jongewaard worked on IGN's female-focused Greenpixels site and Girlfight podcast, among other positions. Fellow Girlfight host and IGN writer Nicole Tanner also confirmed via Twitter that she has been laid off today. The future status of that podcast is unknown at this time. Gamasutra has also learned that GameSpy editor-in-chief Will Tuttle and editorial team member Scott Bromley have also been let go. Former IGN.com editor-in-chief Hilary Goldstein tweeted, "good thoughts to anyone @IGN who lost their job today." Goldstein left his post after nearly ten years with the company last week, citing a desire to have more time to enjoy life. He said today he was not aware of the layoffs in advance. IGN Entertainment is currently hiring for a number of high-level editorial positions, including the position vacated by Goldstein and associate editor positions for recently acquired UGO subsidiary 1UP.com. Reports claim that News Corp. is bulking up its video game news and entertainment unit in order to split it off as a separate business, possibly selling it off. News. Corp.-owned IGN Entertainment has expanded steadily over the years to encompass a small gaming media empire that includes network-technology and editorial site GameSpy, family game site What They Play, and PC download site FilePlanet, among others. Last month, the company sold digital distribution hub Direct2Drive to game rent-by-mail service GameFly. The company has recently expanded into hosting professional game tournaments and providing office space to indie game developers through an open house program. Update: While Gamasutra can confirm that no one from 1UP.com was affected by today's layoffs, word is coming out that the IGN layoffs have spread to UGO.com, as reported by 1UP director Sam Kennedy on Twitter.