The entertainment network, and gamer culture legend, has been absorbed into Otter Media, losing 81 employees in the process. Parent company, AT&T, scooched them over into Otter Media after acquiring Time Warner for $81 billion.
Once upon a time, Machinima was the go-to site for news and content about the art of using video game technology to create animation. Then YouTube happened and they shifted to a more generalised gamer culture entertainment focus. By 2012, they were ranked fourth in YouTube’s subscriber rankings. They were kind of a big deal, growing into a multi-channel network for news, livestreaming, esports coverage, and original programming.
Probably best known for the 2012 web series/really expensive ad, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Machinima also produced Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011), Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist (2014), and a number of other game and comic franchise spin-offs.
Well now they’ve gone dark, with their 12-year catalog of YouTube content taken offline. I guess AT&T needed to declutter and Machinima just didn’t spark joy for them anymore. Thanks for the memories, Machinima.