IGN sister-sites UGO, 1UP, and GameSpy have all been shut down as of today, according to former employees.
The decision to shutter the sites comes less than one month after the company was purchased by digital publishing conglomerate Ziff Davis:
"Our goal is to do fewer things and to do them exceptionally well," explained Ziff Davus CEO Vivek Shah in an internal memo. "In that vein, we want to direct all of our energy and work behind our two flagship brands: IGN and AskMen."
While Shah describes the three sites as "winding down," UGO editor-in-chief Chris Radtke posted that "UGO is Dead" on the front page of the site. According to Polygon, Ziff Davis will also look to sell the IGN Pro League, (IPL) the company's foree into E-Sports.
While a large percentage of the sites' staff have been laid off, select employees will move to IGN. At the same time, an unknown number of employees have also been laid off from IGN.com.
