Good news! After the doom and gloom two weeks ago that saw mass layoffs and acquisition at Polygon, and drama-turned-mass quitting at Giant Bomb, at least one of those ships as been righted. Fandom has sold gaming website and channel Giant Bomb to its two primary hosts, Jeff Bakalar and Jeff Grubb. Hosts Dan Ryckert, Jan Ochoa, and Mike Minotti are also listed as co-owners.
Giant Bomb is now independently owned and operated by its own hosts and writers, and supported by users.
The Giant Bomb crew broke the news during a PAX East 2025 panel last weekend. The news comes after the Giant Bomb crew lambasted recent restrictions and guidelines by their owners, Fandom. Fandom responded by removing the offending Podcast episode, and releasing a worrying message about “actively exploring creative directions for the future of [Giant Bomb].”
“We’re confident Giant Bomb is in good hands and its legacy will live on with Jeff and Jeff,” said Fandom.
“After over a decade of corporate ownership, Giant Bomb will now be truly independent,” writes the Giant Bomb news post. “We don’t work for a corporation anymore, we work for you (please let us know where to send our PTO requests and expense reports). We’re not serving an algorithm or executives, we’re serving you, the audience.”
Fans can sign up to support the independent gaming channel with a $9.99/mo plan, or purchase a yearly plan for $99.99.
Giant Bomb was founded in 2008 by former Gamespot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The site has undergone multiple eras of personalities and hosts over the years, and helped pioneer personality-driven games journalism, podcasting, and liveplay videos.
