Press Reset: The Story of Polygon

Here’s a 13 part documentary on the creation of Polygon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1NP_hl7pc&list=PLFECD492AC5E3201F.

I’m so glad this exists. (Truthfully, I couldn’t remember if this documentary was real or just a dream I had. I’d first seen it 13 years ago. I don’t remember it being carved up into 13 parts.)

The introduction of this documentary is terribly ironic and depressing. Here’s a short snippet:

The Goliaths inspired a nimble counterpart — the game blog; sites like Kotaku, Joystiq, and Destructoid. Once again, a newcomer had the advantage of speed. Within an hour, a reader saw multiple posts. Within a week, they had a magazine’s worth of content. This speed occassionally resulted in misreporting, and pretty visuals took a backseat to getting the post live first. But they were persistent, news-minded, and at least at first, outside the system. The rising tide began to threaten traditional publications. The survivors retreated to the high ground of co-marketed partnerships with console makers and game retailers. But even these publications were a risk.

Which brings us to today. A time of shift. Fast blogs creating more original material. Gargantuan networks that are breaking news. Magazines testing their hands online and in apps. Everyone learning from each other. Games writing is stronger than ever and games are covered in almost every conceivable way. There’s no shortage when it comes to information about games.

Major gaming sites get tens of millions of hits a month. Gaming grows every year. More gamers. More success. More influence. The stakes have never been higher.

Poring over the somber Bluesky posts, Discord conversations, new articles, and newsletters regarding Polygon’s sale to Valnet and the mass layoffs at the site has sent me spiraling down memory lane. In my previous post, I mentioned Polygon inspiring me to become a games journalist and/or web developer. A lot of that sentiment stems from this documentary. I didn’t just want to be a games journalist and/or web developer. I wanted to be a games journalists and/or web developer at Polygon.