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I'm really sad about Kotaku UK closing its doors. I loved working for the site and its where I did so much work I'm proud of https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2020/09/07/farewell-from-kotaku-uk
And while it's frustrating that it's ending its excellent run because of the license expiring, it's also in part because of that license that it was such a special place to work
We couldn't compete with the US site as part of the agreement, which meant the focus wasn't on Google-friendly articles but stories that appealed to our homepage audience
@kezamacdonald and Rich were so clear in their focus on the reader. An unusually large amount of the site's traffic was from people coming to the homepage every day and clicking on the stories that jumped out
It was a daily challenge to fill the blogroll with the major news, bizarre community stories, and compelling features
It was also there where I got to ridiculous things like working on the Star Citizen features. Keza had the idea for the whole the thing and then let me run with it, checking in throughout to offer advice and support https://www.kotaku.co.uk/tag/inside-star-citizen/
She then took a 30,000 word draft and shaped into the much, much more readable version it became, while also sourcing and writing other features to make it into an editorial event. I'm so proud of what we did
I learned so much from Keza, not just about writing and being a journalist, but also about who we're writing for and how to navigate the lines of an industry where it is getting easier and easier to become compromised by commercial content
She also found the perfect person to cover her maternity leave and take over the site when she left. I only knew Rich by reputation as a writer and had no idea how excellent he'd be as an editor and boss
Kotaku UK's always been a small team so you rely on each other a lot to keep the site running. From day one Rich was there for me. He got the site instantly, knew the tone to strike, and who we were writing for
He helped me shape ideas, taught me how to craft features, and how to pull out the most compelling thought from 30 hours with a game and use it to draw a reader into a game's more complex mechanics
He did all this while looking after a new baby. I have no idea where he found the energy day after day
I was so happy to hear that @ali_jones94 was going to join the site as news editor. We'd worked together for two years at PCGN and I couldn't think of anyone better to find that mix of stories the Kotaku readers wanted
I can't wait to see what everyone goes on to do next because they're some of the best writers around. But I'm really sad that the unique place that was Kotaku UK and what it's strange set up fostered will be gone, because it will be almost impossible to recreate elsewhere
