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The somewhat popular gaming forum known as ResetEra has been acquired by M.O.B.A. Network, a Swedish media company. The site was sold for a staggering $4.55 million (USD). The sole remaining owner of ResetEra, Cerium, received $3.55 million as the deal was closed with another $1 million to be paid by December 31, 2021.
ResetEra will join other M.O.B.A. owned gaming communities such as Leaguespy.net and Dotafire.com.
ResetEra was formed back in 2017 after a significant number of NeoGAF members and moderators split off following the allegations of sexual misconduct against NeoGAF owner Tyler "Evilore" Malka. ResetEra used to be co-owned by multiple individuals but they either parted ways from the company over time or were bought out by Cerium until it was only him remaining.
According to the new multi-millionaire, there should be little reason for concern about the new owners. Cerium's announcement of the acquisition on ResetEra contained some of the following tidbits of information about the new ownership and the future direction of the forums.
There were several potential buyers to consider, but in the end the clear best fit was MOBA Network. They're a company based in Sweden which owns a number of community-driven gaming websites; they have a good track record of acquiring sites and giving them the resources to succeed without interfering with how they're run. Crucially, they have absolutely no desire to change the ResetEra community or its culture in any way. Their MO is to stay in the background and only handle the business and logistical end of things.
The staff will retain total independence when it comes to moderation and the day-to-day management of the site. That independence will be held as absolutely sacred, in the same way that editorial independence is treated at journalistic publications.
The staff will retain total independence when it comes to moderation and the day-to-day management of the site. That independence will be held as absolutely sacred, in the same way that editorial independence is treated at journalistic publications.
M.O.B.A. Network CEO Björn Mannerqvist went into a bit more detail about their plans for ResetEra.
"We are very excited and proud to welcome ResetEra.com - one of the world's largest gaming forum and community brands - to our growing number of brands," said Mannerqvist as part of the press release. "ResetEra.com has great growth potential, and we see significant opportunities to develop ResetEra.com, continue to grow traffic flows, improve the sales development and extract synergies within the M.O.B.A. Group."
Sales in the last twelve months (up to and including 31 August) amounted to approximately USD 700,000 with an EBITDA margin of approximately 80%.
Nothing. They have never, and presumably, will never be paid.
Are the staff getting paid?​
The people who've been handling paid work, such as the tech team, will be making their own arrangements with MOBA Network to continue doing what they do. Moderators are still volunteers.
The people who've been handling paid work, such as the tech team, will be making their own arrangements with MOBA Network to continue doing what they do. Moderators are still volunteers.
