A new independent games media site is launching with a clear mission: centering gender identity, queerness, and underrepresented voices in gaming. The site, called Mothership, is founded by former Polygon editors Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah after a turbulent sale of Polygon to Valnet, a company that laid off most of its unionized staff. Describing the aftermath of the sale, Myers said, “It was about a week and a half in where I realized, like, okay, yeah, this, this is not going to work for me.”
Rather than leaving games media altogether, the pair chose to build something new. Mothership will analyze games through identity-first criticism at a time when those perspectives are increasingly marginalized. Myers said, It’s Teen Vogue, but for video games, calling it a bittersweet pitch.
The site will feature reported stories, criticism, podcasts, video, and a newsletter, funded by subscriptions starting at seven dollars a month. Hannah added, “There will be no programmatic ads whatsoever on Mothership, which is a badge of honor.” Myers says the response from queer gamers has been overwhelming.
