Valnet, the parent company of media sites like GameRant and DualShockers, has reportedly changed TheGamer’s payment scheme from flat rates to a structure based on how many sessions an article gets.
The video game media industry is being corroded by corporate owners, leaving aspiring and veteran journalists in the lurch while also making it harder for game studios of all sizes to secure impactful coverage. Last year, IGN, GamesIndustry.biz, and Humble haemorrhaged talent under the stewardship of Ziff Davis, while Valnet laid off a number of Polygon employees after acquiring the publication from Vox Media.
Although Valnet isn’t making redundancies at TheGamer, multiple staff members are reportedly considering leaving their roles over the new payment scheme.
The story was initially reported by Kotaku, following social media posts that claimed that Valnet issued new contracts on Thursday evening of last week. Lex Luddy, former junior editor at TheGamer, said that these contracts now institute a minimum article viewership threshold for payment.
Put simply, whereas past pay-per-view bonuses were additive to the base pay of an article, the new structure is turning that bonus into the actual payment scheme. If an article doesn’t hit the amount of clicks dictated by Valnet, the writer won’t be paid for their work on it.
Luddy claims the details of these contracts were not flagged by anyone on TheGamer’s management before being sent out. They added that most of the current staff believe that issuing these contracts is a form of “soft layoffs,” as most people would rather leave than sign.
Kotaku stated it was able to view a copy of the newly-issued contracts, which are reportedly being touted as a “new and exciting, performance-based bonus system.” The contract was purportedly issued on May 21 and went into effect on the following day.
According to Kotaku, writers will now earn $5 per 1,000 “sessions” (clicks) and editors will earn $3 per 1,000 sessions. That rate only applies to the first “15 days per post.” Of course, this would also mean that, if an article gets fewer than 1,000 sessions, the writer won’t be paid.
Speaking to Kotaku, Luddy said that half of the writers at TheGamer are currently in “open revolt” with upper management, while others are desperately trying “to make contact with Valnet representatives” in search of a justification for the contracts.
According to a report from Aftermath based on conversations with workers at TheGamer, not everyone was offered these new terms. Valnet reportedly offered it to some members of the site’s guides and news teams.
Details of the new compensation structure are still being communicated, with those who spoke to Aftermath expressing confusion over what the payment scheme will entail in practice. Sources told the publication they believe pay could be pro-rated under the new structure, meaning that workers could receive some amount of pay for a story even if it doesn’t hit the 1,000 sessions threshold.
Yet, the workers agreed that those working under the reported new structure would see their pay drop drastically. Moreover, workers are worried that anybody offered the new contract will feel forced to depart TheGamer because they simply cannot afford to work there anymore.
Disclaimer: The author is friends with Lex Luddy, as well as present and former staff at both TheGamer and Polygon.