The story of Giant Bomb continues as Fandom announces the sale of the website to new owners. During a PAX East panel, Jeff Bakalar, Jeff Grubb, Dan Ryckert, and Jan Ochoa announced that they are the new owners of Giant Bomb. According to Fandom's press release announcing the sale, both Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb are the main owners. Ryckert and Ochoa were also stated to be "owners" during the panel tonight. The four of them also called Mike Minotti just this morning to ask if he would like to join them as the fifth owner. Minotti agreed to be the fifth owner of Giant Bomb.
This all came to be after over a week of uncertainty when it comes to the future of Giant Bomb. Disagreements between Giant Bomb and their now former owners at Fandom came to a head from April 30 to May 1. Fandom allegedly wanted to make Giant Bomb more brand friendly and Giant Bomb didn't want to do that. This led to several staff stating that they were no longer working for Giant Bomb, including Dan Ryckert and Jeff Bakalar.
During tonight's PAX East panel, Giant Bomb's new independent owners stated that as of right now they are in control of the site. They state that they are going to again place a bigger focus on Premium content and that all Premium subscriptions go directly to them and not to any corporate ownership.
Furthermore, they state that for now things will be a bit "scrappy" as they figure things out. They have announced that they are already going to continue several of their regular shows including the Bombcast (podcast).
Statement from Fandom
“Fandom has made the strategic decision to transition Giant Bomb back to its independent roots and the brand has been acquired by longtime staff and content creators, Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb, who will now own and operate the site independently. Fans are at the core of everything we do at Fandom and we’re committed to not only serving them but also supporting the creators they love, and the sale of Giant Bomb represents a natural extension of that mission. We’re confident Giant Bomb is in good hands and its legacy will live on with Jeff and Jeff.”
Joint Statement from Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb
"Giant Bomb is now owned by the people who make Giant Bomb, and it would not have been possible without the speedy efforts of Fandom and our mutual agreement on what’s best for fans and creators. The future of Giant Bomb is now in the hands of our supporting community, who have always had our backs no matter what. We'll have a lot more to say about what this looks like soon, but for now, everyone can trust that all the support we receive goes directly to this team."
“Fandom has made the strategic decision to transition Giant Bomb back to its independent roots and the brand has been acquired by longtime staff and content creators, Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb, who will now own and operate the site independently. Fans are at the core of everything we do at Fandom and we’re committed to not only serving them but also supporting the creators they love, and the sale of Giant Bomb represents a natural extension of that mission. We’re confident Giant Bomb is in good hands and its legacy will live on with Jeff and Jeff.”
Joint Statement from Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb
"Giant Bomb is now owned by the people who make Giant Bomb, and it would not have been possible without the speedy efforts of Fandom and our mutual agreement on what’s best for fans and creators. The future of Giant Bomb is now in the hands of our supporting community, who have always had our backs no matter what. We'll have a lot more to say about what this looks like soon, but for now, everyone can trust that all the support we receive goes directly to this team."
Also, what are the odds of Jeff Gerstmann returning after being fired by Red Ventures? I mean, he can do both Giant Bomb and The Jeff Gerstmann Show.......... Right?