In 2016 Vice started a website called waypoint, which the company hoped would be an “immersive dive into the culture, passion and politics of gaming.” It did that and then some, and then even exited more Ass, and in June 2023 it will be gone.
As anyone reading the site (or listening to their podcasts) would tell you, waypoint was different. Unlike almost every other major gaming site, this one you are reading contains waypoint wasn’t interested in updating, writing blog after blog about release date postponements or industry shenanigans or the latest scandal. It was a website (and podcasts and other related community stuff) designed to treat video games with the respect they deserve (and often don’t) and a home for writing, discussion, and criticism that always has good, always thoughtful, always fair.
“There’s a plethora of targets within the gaming media that do a great job of determining if a game is worth the money.” waypoints original editor-in-chief Austin Walker said at the time of the site’s announcement. “Gamers looking for that coverage are well served.”
“Instead, we want to focus on telling stories about why people play and examining how the games we love and spend so much time in came to be. Whether a game has been a commercial success or has a small, engaged community, we want to stimulate conversation and take an in-depth look at the passion, people and politics that underpin these worlds.”
It hired very good writers and reporters – I have to acknowledge that many of them, from Patrick Klepek to Gita Jackson to Renata Price, had also worked for us my city– but also gave journalists and critics a voice had not and give their unique pieces a huge platform that they otherwise might not have had in an industry where big websites are usually dominated by previews and developer interviews.
But it was also part of Vice, an absolute shit show from a company whose decline and financial woes have been widely documented. And so it feels both inevitable and sad that we learned this today waypoint was closed, the curtain fell on June 2nd.
“I’m not sure where to begin other than saying with equal parts anger and sadness that Waypoint is over,” waypoints Patrick Klepek wrote on Twitter today. “The team, including myself, has been terminated by VICE and our last day running the website, podcasts and streams ends June 2nd.”
That sucks, like it always sucks when a good outlet that’s doing a good job, is doing well, and entertaining readers is shutting down, not because it was “unsuccessful,” but because Adults In The Room once again turned out to be B. A media company has proven inept, and its employees who are doing good and important work will suffer as a result.
waypoints Closure, hot on the heels of launchers Shutting down earlier this year is another blow to serious video game coverage and criticismand leaves the entire room weaker than it was a year ago (when it was weaker than a year ago The, etc etc). As the whole concept of an ad-supported Internet begins to creak and pop, showing signs of imminent structural collapse, every site you’re currently reading for free risks ending up just like this waypointand exactly how launcherand just like all the other myriad examples of websites that can and do do a good job (and often financially successfully) but are at the mercy of owners and an unrelenting economic framework that will crush us all to dust.
I wish all those affected nothing but the best and want to thank them for all the great work they have done over the years. Fuck capitalism, go home.
