Kotaku Australia to shut down
Licence holder Pedestrian Group to re-focus on own brands, also drops Vice and Gizmodo in the country, dozens laid off
Kotaku Australia will be shutting down as licence holder Pedestrian Group has restructured to focus on its own brands.
As reported by The Guardian, several titles from the company's portfolio of licensed publications will cease to exist in the country, also including Vice, Gizmodo, and Lifehacker.
Dozens of staff are being laid off as a result of the move. They reportedly were informed of the news via an email sent by Pedestrian Group CEO Matt Rowley today, telling them: "We've made the tough decision to focus on our wholly owned Pedestrian brands where we control the strategy, the content, the product, the sales and the outcome – the entire business.
"This will have an impact on roles within the group and I appreciate the uncertainty this change creates, so we will be in contact immediately with those people."
Rowley is due to move on from his role as part of the transition, with a new CEO to be appointed.
Managing editor of Kotaku Australia David Smith commented on social media: "Today, the story of Kotaku Australia comes to a sad and abrupt end. It has been one of the great joys of my life to wake up every day and run a site I love with all my heart."
He mentioned that Kotaku Australia was the second-highest read site in the Pedestrian Group's portfolio.