Earlier this week it was reported that Joystiq was on track to be shut down by AOL as part of a restructuring within the company. News has recently emerged that the gaming site won't exactly be shut down, but will become a part of another site within the AOL network.
Joystiq as we know it today will no longer exist. That said, it's spirit will live on, as Joystiq, along with the Apple news site TUAW, will be folded into Engadget.
This will probably work in a similar way when VentureBeat took in GamesBeat. You will find GamesBeat listed under the channels tab on the main site.
AOL is looking to cut costs and bring in more revenue, which means that along with the website consolidations there will be layoffs. The number of individuals affected is forecasted to be around 150 people, mostly in sales*. The restructuring that AOL is doing did not come without warning. An earnings call in November 2014 revealed that the company would be simplifying things in 2015:
“As we look out to 2015, our strategy and decisions will be driven by the following organizing principles. Number one, we’ll focus our capital allocation resource management and management time against scaled assets and platforms. Two, we will organize our asset portfolio around scaled value and scaled growth assets. Three, we’ll simplify everything that can be simplified." – CEO Tim Armstrong.
*Note for clarity: The layoffs are within AOL and are occurring in tandem with site consolidations.
The URL says AOHELL in the Tech Crunch article. I giggled.
Twitter: TatiMo_GZ
