At the same time Future was laying off employees at multiple publications within its ecosystem, IGN was telling long-time video game site VooDoo Extreme that they could no longer afford to pay them to update the site. They asked them to stay on as volunteers, according to one staffer.
Here's what "Jube" over at VooDoo Extreme said about the situation in a post called "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes - The State Of Our Voodoo Extremities" :
" 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."
It sounds like IGN wants to treat VooDoo Extreme like a fan site at this point and save money on the staff, but one has to wonder if the current staff is really willing to work for nothing at all. As someone who worked at VE for a short period time (when Billy Wilson and Robert Howarth were still there) I have to say that this is very sad news.
Comments
Re: IGN Stops Paying VooDoo Extreme Staff, Asks Them to Work ...
Even if they want to stay on as volunteers, it won't be the same. They'll all have to get real jobs and that will leave a lot less time to dedicate to running that site. Did IGN ust call them up one day and tell them they weren't getting paychecks anymore? That's kind of a low blow...not even giving the staff time to find other work.