Gus Wenner's father created Rolling Stone in 1967. The magazine quickly became the periodical for devotees of rock-and-roll music. Now, Wenner hopes to mine another entertainment vein with Glixel, an upcoming website focused on video games and related content.
New York Times broke the report, and carried news that Glixel will go live in October. Wenner Media, parent company of Rolling Stone and other magazines such as Us Weekly and Men's Journal, views it as one step in a bigger push into the digital frontier.
"Gaming just felt like an area where there was a great audience opportunity, a great revenue opportunity and a major void that we could fill with capabilities we had in-house," said Gus Wenner, son of co-founder Jann Wenner and the head of the company's digital operations.
There's no disputing the publishing cachet backing Glixel, but gaming websites aren't exactly uncharted terrain. Heavyweights like IGN, GameSpot, and Kotaku planted their flag in its soil years ago, and the number of YouTube and Twitch streamers like PewDiePie grows exponentially every year.
How does Glixel plan to stand out? By leaning on the counsel of John Davison, a pro at building game-centric content destinations and establishing them as must-click hotspots. "We want to make it very much about the people—not just the people that make games, but the people that play them," Davison, who's been brought on as general manager of Glixel, told the Times.
Davison brings over two decades of experience fostering growth at some of the who's-who of gaming websites. One of his earliest tenures was as editor-in-chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly. From there, he helmed Official PlayStation Magazine before making waves at Ziff Davis Media, Zynga, and Red Robot Labs Inc., a social media network tailored to iOS and Android platforms.
Glixel will start fresh, as a standalone website buoyed by in-house cross-promotional opportunities such as publishing Glixel pieces on Rolling Stone.
Wenner knows he has an uphill battle ahead of him, but is passionate about the project. "It takes a lot to build a brand. So we’re not taking that lightly."
You can stay current on Glixel news by signing up for its newsletter at Glixel.com.
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