Chris Kerr, former Senior Editor of GDC sibling Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra) has launched a new subscription-funded publication to deliver “incisive, bold reporting for video game industry professionals” that “scrutinises with intensity and integrity without having to worry about conflicting commercial interests.”
Vertical Slice, which launched today and will be free to read until November 2nd, is aimed at “developers who care deeply about the art form and wellbeing of their peers,” Kerr tells GamesIndustry.biz, along with “executives and industry leaders who value uncompromising honesty over pandering puff pieces.” Subscription pricing starts at £7.45 per month.
Kerr left Game Developer along with several other contributors and its EIC, Danielle Rindeau, in September, with Rindeau saying that reporting honestly is “not something one can do without editorial independence”.
Vertical Slice will carry news and features alongside an archive of pitch and design documents called the The Repository, intended to serve as a resource for other developers. After the paywall launches in November free users will be able to access files in the Repository section and “select articles”, says Kerr, but the majority of the site’s output will require a subscription to read.
“We want to become known for providing developers with the knowledge required to hone their craft and change the video game industry for the better,” he says. “That could mean spotlighting a new funding initiative, amplifying the voice of unionising workers, asking experts to contextualise a trending news story, producing long-form investigative journalism to surface a pressing issue, or simply chatting with devs about their rad new thing.”
“It will always mean giving workers a voice and holding power to account by cutting through the noise to find the truth.”
Kerr has self-funded the site, which will rely on reader subscriptions for the bulk of its revenue. His initial goal is 500 monthly subscribers or 650 annual, which would match his previous salary, but once he has covered that and his operating costs he wants to “funnel every last penny back into the publication,” he says. “I’m not starting Vertical Slice to amass untold riches. I simply want to do the work I value in service of an audience in need of top-quality reporting.”
The site will not carry advertising, save for sponsorship of its database of design and pitch documents which “will be made possible through contributions and sponsorships from like-minded partners who believe in the need for greater transparency within the video game industry.”
“I want to create a clear divide between that and our journalistic output,” he says. “I’m working with a third-party sales agency to ensure Vertical Slice reporters (including myself) will never be directly involved in those conversations.”
Kerr is the sole staff member at launch, but plans to “immediately reinvest in editorial as soon as I achieve sustainability,” and has already commissioned multiple freelance contributions from ex-Polygon reporter Nicole Carpenter. He says the “most affirming aspect of going independent” has been chatting with other independent outlets including Aftermath, People Make Games, Game File and Manchester-based startup The Mill.
“The media industry has reached a critical juncture,” says Kerr. “It’s to dispel the notion that journalism is a low-grade commodity to be consumed freely. Meanwhile, journalists need to become comfortable asking people to pay for their craft.”
“Meaningful journalism demands hours upon hours of invisible labour before you can even think about putting pen to paper. Late night source calls. Tracking down and then poring over dense documentation. Fact-checking every last sentence. Even as someone who’s been doing this for over a decade, I regularly feel I should be grateful to simply be doing the job — and I truly am — but that doesn’t negate the fact that work is work.”