The resurrection of the video game channel is coming to an abrupt end.

In recent weeks, several prominent figures have left G4, either by their choice (Indiana “Froskurinn” Black or Kevin Pereira) or as a result of being fired. For this reason, we had somewhat expected that the channel’s owner, Comcast Spectacor, would (again!) shoot down the channel it relaunched with great hype in 2021. The experiment was unsuccessful: the channel failed to match the ratings of the 2000s, and brand awareness beyond the fans was not high. The video game channel in its original form said goodbye on the last day of 2014 (by then, it had almost nothing to do with its original programming).

Deadline has obtained a letter from Comcast Spectacor chairman/CEO Dave Scott letting go of a few dozen employees, some of whom may be moving elsewhere within the company. They gave it an honest try: old favourites, such as Attack of the Show, Xplay and Boosted, were brought back, but the audience draw wasn’t enough to compete against YouTube and Twitch streamers, leading to layoffs in July and then September. Here is the letter from Scott:

“As you know, G4 was re-introduced last year to tap into the popularity of gaming. We invested in creating the new G4 as an online and TV destination for fans to be entertained, inspired, and connect with gaming content. Over the past several months, we worked hard to generate that interest in G4, but viewership is low, and the network has not achieved sustainable financial results. This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the tough decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effective immediately. I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too. Thank you and everyone on the G4 team for your hard work and commitment to the network. Our human resources team is reaching out to you to support you, discuss other opportunities that may be available, and answer any questions you may have. Thank you again for all of your hard work for G4.”

What’s funny is that several people found out they no longer had a job from Twitter, meaning the letter got out on the web before they got it internally. The filmmakers found out they had to stop filming. Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil found out it was game over from a Wario64 tweet, while Alex “GoldenBoy” Mendez, an eSports commentator, was negotiating a new contract with G4 and Comcast when he heard what had happened.

There have been a lot of layoffs in the foreign press lately (GameStop let many people go from Game Informer’s editorial staff, Fanbyte made a similar decision, and meanwhile, Fandom bought up Metacritic, GameSpot, Giant Bomb, which shows how unpredictable the industry is). The end of the tunnel can’t be seen yet.

Source: GameRant