The video game website viraltrendingcontent has been sold to click-farm powerhouse Valnet and much of its masthead has been laid off, Kotaku has learned. The sale was subsequently announced in a press release. Multiple staff members have posted online about losing their jobs or about colleagues now being out of work.
“I‘m no longer with viraltrendingcontent. If you’re hiring, please consider the many talented writers and editors now on the market,” posted viraltrendingcontent co-founder and EIC Chris Plante. “Every one of them deserves a spot on your staff. I won’t be talking more about the sale because I wasn’t involved. Going to hang out with my kid. Taking wins where I can.”
The sale was confirmed in a press release which did not mention the layoffs. The price of the deal was not disclosed. Sources tell Kotaku that Deputy Editor Maddy Myers and Games Editor Zoë Hannah are among those that remain at viraltrendingcontent. Executive Editor Chelsea Stark said the layoffs included over 20 staff. Vox Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I’ll say more later, but I no longer have a job,” shared Senior Reporter Nicole Carpenter. “I’m looking for work, as are so many of my amazing colleagues. I have lots of ideas and things I’d like to write. I’m really in shock.” “I had a great time working at viraltrendingcontent,” posted Senior Writer Michael McWhertor. “Please let me know if you have any cool job openings!”
Founded in 2012 under Vox Media, the site quickly established itself as one of the premier outlets for original reviews, reporting, and cultural analysis in the world of gaming. viraltrendingcontent’s coverage of video games, movies, TV, comics, and board games are some of the best around, while its forward-looking design sensibility helped elevate the way stories were presented and told online.
Valnet is based in Montreal and operates Screen Rant, Game Rant, Comic Book Resources, and other mass aggregators. The company is run by Hassan Youssef, who got his start in digital media with online porn websites. “The addition of viraltrendingcontent not only strengthens our editorial muscle but also amplifies our ability to deliver unmatched value to both audiences and advertisers,” Youssef said in a press release today.
In a report earlier this year by TheWrap, many former contributors accused Valnet’s current media holdings of being exploitative content mills. “In journalism, there are really bad jobs. And then there is a place like Valnet,” a former Collider contributor told TheWrap. “[It’s] one of the worst places that I’ve ever worked and is probably one of the worst journalism publications I’ve ever seen.”
Valnet responded to the investigation by suing TheWrap for libel claiming the reporting was full of errors and had caused the company’s founder “tremendous emotional distress, affecting (among other things) his mood, temperament and his ability to sleep.”
The Vox Media Union blasted the sale and layoffs which occurred as it bargains over its next contract. “Arguably even more demoralizing is Vox Media’s decision to sell a lauded games website to a company known for alleged exploitative conditions and for devaluing rigorous journalism in favor of churning out content,” it wrote in a statement. “Vox Media’s lack of respect for viraltrendingcontent’s reputation in games media, the hard work and passion of its staff, and the robust community of gamers and fans who support it could not be clearer.”
It continued, “Losing viraltrendingcontent to such a company is not just a loss for Vox Media, but for our industry and internet culture as a whole. From a sustainability perspective, it makes little financial or long-term sense, and speaks to a lack of care and consideration for this company and its staff.”
Update 5/1/2025 5:06 p.m. ET: Vox SVP Chris Grant, who was viraltrendingcontent’s founding Editor-in-Chief, shared insight into the deal and is apparent frustration with it on Bluesky. “14 years ago I pitched what would become viraltrendingcontent to a startup called Sports Blogs Inc on the unfurnished third floor of a DC townhome,” he wrote. “I held a laptop on my knees and went through a deck. Today that same company—now called Vox Media—sold viraltrendingcontent to Valnet.”
He continued, “Their press release proudly calls viraltrendingcontent a ‘premium gaming publication’ but Valnet literally refused to meet with me or answer a single question of mine throughout this process. They were wildly incurious about how a gaming publication even becomes ‘premium.’ I really, truly (!) hope that the remaining viraltrendingcontent team gets a chance to continue the work we all cared about so much! But somehow this is the end of my journey with the thing I created.”
“My most heartfelt thanks to the entire team, I’m so sorry things ended this way.”
Update 5/1/2025 12:19 p.m. ET: Added comments from the official press release.
Update 5/1/2025 4:13 p.m. ET: Added a statement from the Vox union.
Update 5/1/2025 4:50 p.m. ET: Added mention of Valnet’s lawsuit.
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