Tom Marks

This is indeed helping, thank you.

I don't really know what else to say at this point besides I am very tired and I am going to miss the folk who were laid off today a lot.

Every time I worked with @lawoftd.bsky.social as an editor was a great experience. @oswinstark.bsky.social cut so many of my video reviews that we were almost like a tag team, and her ability to turn subpar or too little footage into something exciting was clutch. Hire them before someone else does.

*Record Scratch* Freeze Frame. "You're probably wondering how I got here."

I am one of the eight IGN members laid off. During my three years at IGN, I worked for some of the best creators and writers around. I will miss them all dearly.

I am, unfortunately, one of these eight members.

Hello! You may have seen it, but I am one of the employees that have been impacted by layoffs at IGN.

It's been a great six years, but this now means I am looking to apply my talents to something new and exciting.

One of the impacted members. 🫡

My co-workers at IGN are incredible and every one of us who was let go and every one of those who is still there deserves so much better.

Today, IGN Entertainment announced that it would be laying off eight members of the IGN Creators Guild. This is 12% of our bargaining unit, and comes just days after our sister union, the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, underwent similar layoffs impacting 15% of their members. It also comes just months after our multibillion-dollar parent company, Ziff Davis, instituted a company-wide buyout that shrunk our unit numbers, with the express intent of avoiding future layoffs. And it comes just a little over one year after three of our members were laid off almost immediately after our union went public. The company has told us that the reason for this layoff stems from a Ziff Davis-mandate to cut costs despite several quarters in a row of year-over-year revenue increases, to which IGN Entertainment responded by coming for our members' jobs. This is perplexing to us, as we are told again and again that IGN Entertainment has had a tremendously successful year thus far thanks to their hard work. In just the last few months, our members have been absolutely essential to major events and livestreams, including San Diego ComicCon, Summer of Gaming, and IGN Live. Every single person impacted today was involved in and critical to the success of those events. Meanwhile, IGN Entertainment continues to spend money on costly acquisitions, only to turn around and gut those companies in the same way it is cutting away at IGN itself. For instance, last year, it acquired Gamer Network, and almost immediately laid off a number of staff critical to making those sites successful. The company has not responded to the union's questions about whether its budget for future acquisitions is being reconsidered as a cost-saving measure alongside these other apparently necessary personnel cuts. At a time when it is more necessary than ever to support its creators, IGN Entertainment is choosing to eliminate the individuals who ensure IGN remains competitive as generative AI

threatens our reach. We have been told that expert opinion pieces, original interviews, and work that leverages our staff's deep knowledge of gaming, tech, and entertainment are all essential to combating AI summarization and regurgitation of our work. Management has responded by cutting several individuals who do that exact work, as well as others whose job it is to ensure that these written and video pieces are published in a speedy manner — another component of combating AI we're told is critical. This continued cycle of repeated, aggressive cuts to our staff and being asked to do more with less, only for management to continue to spend on new business it isn't interested in sustaining cannot continue. We will enforce our interim agreement that guarantees better severance and other protections to laid off members, as well as demand additional support for those impacted. We will continue to bargain over our first contract with the aim of enshrining even better protections against further layoffs, working conditions continuously degraded by understaffing, and the encroachment of generative AI. And we won't stop fighting to ensure IGN remains the best destination for trustworthy, original, exciting, and creative work covering video games, entertainment, and tech. While IGN Entertainment management may not value us, we value one another and the incredible work we can do together. Behind the articles, videos, social posts, playlists, and maps of IGN are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet to be pushed around when some number at the top isn't big enough. Without us, there is no IGN.

Today, IGN laid off eight extremely valuable members of our union and workforce via directive from our parent company, Ziff Davis. This, after two incredibly successful live events IGN Live and SDCC, and yet another corporate acquisition.

Please take a moment to read and share our full statement:

Outer Wilds Has Changed the Way I Think About Death - IGN Spoiler warning as we dig into the message and meaning behind Outer Wilds, and how it reflects the real world.

This is cool! Probably the most personal thing I've written for work is about how Outer Wilds forced me think about my own mortality: www.ign.com/articles/201...

When I played Mewgenics for this preview, Edmund McMillen loaded up a save file created by @tomrmarks.bsky.social from when he previewed the game, and I got Tom's cats killed. Sorry Tom. www.pcgamer.com/games/roguel...

YouTube video by IGN The Naked Gun (2025) Review

Took a cue from our counterparts on the games side and did a little "reviewer interviewer" postscript for The Naked Gun. Hear me and see me stump for the cleansing power of communal laughter!

Always love when we get to put brand new sentences out into the world.

Yo, I wrote this one! Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one of my favorite games so far this year, and a pretty slick way to bring Ninja Gaiden into the modern era. Oh, and it's absolutely gorgeous and the soundtrack bangs. A Will-certified Game for Sickos. You should check out my review.

Daemon did beat RE2, just didn’t beat the optional 2nd mode.

Filip IGN parted ways with right after the review you are referencing, not sure what more you want there.

Tristan did beat DS, don’t know why you think otherwise.

Importantly, we stated all this directly in the reviews mentioned.

Magic: The Gathering Reveals New Secret Lair Drop Series With Wild Art - IGN Magic: The Gathering's new sets bring adorable cats, explosions, and more.

I did the very first Secret Lair reveal when it first started six years ago.

That is a truly insane thing for you to say 🙃

LawBreakers Review - IGN LawBreakers is a fast-paced, gravity-defying FPS from the creator of Gears of War.

Today marks 8 years at IGN for me, which feels sorta nuts.

My very first assignment was reviewing Lawbreakers - @danstapleton.bsky.social DM'ed me two weeks before I even started to say "Congrats! Wanna review this game when you get here?"

Time flies!

Not gonna lie, I saw you post that and had to really restrain myself from not replying with a thousand 👀👀👀

Exclusive: 5 New Cards from Spider-Man's Upcoming Magic: The Gathering Crossover - IGN A multiversal first look at five different versions of the famous webslinger.

It’s San Diego Comic-Con this week, which means we’ve got reveals for #MTGxSpiderMan!

We have the first look at 5 different Spideys, all of which Spider-Verse fans might be excited to see, as well as an alt treatment that uses art straight from the comics!

www.ign.com/articles/spi...

College Football 26 Review - IGN A sophomore season that's more focused on steady improvement rather than breakout success.

College Football 26 is my 25th review for @ign.com! It's a good football sim that makes smart improvements but still has a ways to go achieve greatness. 25 IGN reviews is... surreal.

I did one in 2021. Two in 2022. Five in 2023. Ten in 2025. I have done seven this year, and have three more coming.

Persona5: The Phantom X Review - IGN A carefully constructed imitation that fails to steal your heart.

My final review for Persona5: The Phantom X is up on @ign.com!

www.ign.com/articles/per...

Y'all gave us an amazing amount of support back when we first announced our union, and it truly made a difference - now we need your help again to ensure it's as strong as it can be.

Please spread the word, it very genuinely has an impact!

An update: management has chosen not to recognize our Product, Engineering, and Humble Bundle colleagues as part of IGNCG, instead insisting on a time-consuming NLRB hearing, which took place last week.

Help us spread the word: we will not be divided. We are IGN, and we will always stand together.

Tangentially, this is also why "you lose the whole fight if the protagonist goes down" is a trash mechanic that can rot in a ditch! I have a healer for a reason!!!

I think I don't dig this style because it can only make easy fights more frustrating, not more challenging.

Hard fights are good, but not getting the jump on a trivial enemy in Metaphor doesn't then make that fight hard, it just makes it obnoxious.

"I would be winning easily if..." is a feels bad.

I love Metaphor and am digging Clair Obscur, but an interesting RPG trend (one also in the Mario RPG remake) is how WILDLY all-or-nothing combat can be.

Take 16 actions in a row or watch the enemy do so instead. Die to a 5-part haymaker or dodge and take literally zero damage. Not sure I love that?

Donkey Kong Bananza is a masterpiece.

It's a brilliant successor to Super Mario Odyssey, one of the best platformers I’ve ever played, and one of my favorite Nintendo games of all time. DK is finally back, and I couldn't be happier.

Find out why in my 10/10 review, on @ign.com.

Job Alert

Editorial Director, RockPaperShotgun: jobs.jobvite.com/ign/job/oN7r...
Guides Writer, RockPaperShotgun:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Digital Marketing Manager, IGN Store: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...
Director of Subscriptions:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...

He’s very thirsty.

keyword:partner -o:"partner with" 63 Magic cards found where the card has the keyword “Partner” and the text doesn’t contain “partner with”

Anyone with base "Partner"! Cats, robots, mermaids - you name it: scryfall.com/search?q=key...