IGN lays off top hosts, fans link 6/10 Wolverine review

IGN is the next victim of mass layoffs. According to Kotaku, the popular video game website laid off several of its top talents, including long-time hosts Seth Macy and Brian Altano.

Macy took to X and wrote, “I just got laid off.”

Colleague Ryan McCaffrey replied to Macy and wrote, “I’m so sorry to hear this, Seth. You’re a rockstar and brought so much to the IGN team across many departments that most people can’t publicly see. You didn’t deserve this. I think the world of you and am here if you ever want to chat or if I can be helpful somehow.”

Kotaku reported the layoffs affected several departments, but the total number of employees affected remains unknown. The outlet added that some layoffs occurred following disagreements over remote working arrangements. Altano is considered one of IGN’s top hosts and has been with the website since 2009, appearing on the PlayStation-focused Podcast Beyond. Macy was a senior commerce editor who frequently appeared on the Nintendo Voice Chat.

Bo Moore, a senior manager at the website, was also affected by the layoffs. He took to Bluesky and wrote:

“My team had a huge content day today on IGN, covering the launch of Valve’s Steam Frame. So this seems like a good time as any to say that I was affected by today’s layoffs.

My byline is only on one of the 7 stories we posted this morning, but I edited every one, worked late last week and logged on early this morning to make sure everything was on track for one of our biggest coverage days of the year.

“Instead of celebrating that success, I’m mourning the loss of my and many of my talented colleagues’ jobs. Please hire them. Please hire me. And please still read and watch our work. Our Steam Frame review is sharp and smartly critical of an extremely interesting piece of technology.”

The round of layoffs comes months after the website sacked a smaller group of employees, including engineers, ahead of its annual Summer Game Fest in LA. An IGN Creators Guild member previously told Aftermath that the company has a history of laying off people after a successful event.

IGN’s decision stirred debate on social media:

“Not that it would be more acceptable at any other time, but it is kind of insane that people are getting cut from a video game website during an incredibly busy period of video game releases, and 2 months out from GTA6, which will be an absolutely massive driver of traffic.”

“All the best for them hope they find something better should have left IGN a long time ago. Used to enjoy Brian’s opinions but stopped listening to anything IGN some time back.”

“IGN are dying and it’s such a shame. These were two big employees, they never would’ve let them go if they could’ve helped it.”

The layoffs stirred debate, with several fans linking the layoffs to IGN’s recent review of Insomniac’s Wolverine.

An X user wrote, “Do we need more evidence that the IGN bosses have deep ties to PlayStation?”

Another user responded, “But that doesn’t make sense because IGN themselves gave it a low rating. Then why would they fire this guy for also being critical?”

Macy previously wrote in response to IGN’s review, “My problem with Wolverine is actually the opposite. The fighting rules but dear God, shut up with the constant cutscenes. It’s hard to have fun when the action constantly gets interrupted by… a scripted action scene. It’s the biggest problem I have with these Sony games. They sacrifice gameplay in favor of pretty corny millennial story telling. I think The Last of Us might have been the actual worst thing to ever happen to Sony games.”