G/O Media fires Kotaku editor-in-chief Patricia Hernandez
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Kotaku editor-in-chief Patricia Hernandez has reportedly been fired following a personnel disagreement.
That's according to journalist Shannon Liao, who spoke to Hernandez after she announced via social media that yesterday was her last day at the site.
According to Liao's Updater newsletter, Hernandez claimed she was not offered any severance pay. There were no further details on the disagreement that led to Hernandez's dismissal.
Hernandez now plans to focus on freelance writing.
Speaking to Updater, Hernandez said she was not surprised by her firing.
"My time there was defined by management making baffling decisions and the actual workers trying to make the best of the situations created by these choices," she told Liao. "And in this case, they fired one of their biggest traffic drivers."
Hernandez had ambitions to "dismantle and redefine what a video game website can be," but she said Kotaku was never able to realise its potential due to G/O Media's management.
"When leadership is, say, getting frustrated at you for writing about Tears of the Kingdom after it release, I do think there's a limit to how much things can flourish," he said.
GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to G/O Media for comment, but has yet to receive a response at the time of publication.
Hernandez originally worked for Kotaku as a freelancer before eventually joining the team and rising to deputy editor. After a time at Polygon as culture editor, she returned to Kotaku in 2021 as editor-in-chief.
Last year, a union representing staff from Kotaku, Gizmodo and other G/O Media went on strike over better salaries, parental leave, and healthcare, among other things.
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