TORONTO, July 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enthusiast Gaming Media Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enthusiast Gaming Inc. (“Enthusiast Gaming”) is excited to announce that it has acquired The Escapist Magazine (“Escapist”), and the return of its former Editor-in-Chief, Russ Pitts. Founded in 2005, Escapist is a leading online magazine focused on in-depth coverage of the video game industry in addition to movies, comics, TV, and more. Averaging over 6 million monthly visits since 2008,1 the acquisition significantly grows Enthusiast Gaming’s network and follows the successful acquisition of Destructoid.com in 2017, enhancing the company’s growth strategy as the fastest growing community of online gamers.
One of Escapist’s cornerstones is its YouTube channel, host of the popular video game review series, Zero Punctuation, starring Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw and a social media following of close to 2 million users.
The acquisition also adds to the website monetization potential that powers Enthusiast Gaming’s platforms and partners. Currently, Enthusiast Gaming is generating over one billion ad requests per week though Enthusiast Gaming Media and affiliated partners.
Russ Pitts is a former Editor-in-Chief of Escapist and spent 5 years successfully building and growing the online magazine. Mr. Pitts has an impressive track record with Escapist including: six Webby Awards, two Streamy nominations, a G.A.N.G. Award nomination, two dozen video series, over 1,000 written articles and a Time Magazine "50 Best Websites” mention. In 2011, Mr. Pitts left Escapist and helped Vox Media launch Polygon.
“The acquisition of Escapist is instrumental as we continue to grow our network of gamers. Escapist represents long form and intellectual content generation and will be another flagship platform in our network,” commented, Menashe Kestenbaum, Founder & CEO of Enthusiast Gaming. “Russ is a true visionary in online gaming journalism and we are thrilled to bring him back to lead Escapist.”
“Escapist Magazine holds a special place in my heart as the place where I started my career in games. Enthusiast truly gets what makes game communities special and is fully invested in getting this right. The opportunity to join with Enthusiast to help bring Escapist back to its original cultural relevance is a huge opportunity not only for me and my team, but for the many fans of Escapist who have been so supportive of the brand for over 13 years” said Russ Pitts, Incoming Editor-in-Chief, Escapist.
About Enthusiast Gaming
Enthusiast was incorporated in 2014 under the laws of the Province of Ontario. Enthusiast owns and operates an online network of websites devoted to video gaming and Canada's largest video-gaming expo. Between its online digital media properties, its network of partner websites, and video-gaming gaming expo, Enthusiast engages millions of video gaming enthusiasts worldwide. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canada's largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX), which recently hosted over 20,000 gamers in Toronto in March 2018. For more information, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com
About Escapist Magazine
The Escapist is an internet media publication focused on video games and entertainment. Anchored by the weekly The Escapist Magazine publication, the site's offerings are rounded out by a host of thoughtful editorial content contributed by some of the most notable writers and thinkers in interactive entertainment, engaging social media elements such as the annual game developer showdown "March Mayhem". The site features timely and relevant news and reviews, a vibrant and dedicated community, and a variety of innovative webTV video series including the critically-acclaimed Zero Punctuation.
_____________________________
1 According to Google Analytics