G4 TV’s revival is sadly coming to an end less than a year after its relaunch as Comcast pulls the plug behind series like Xplay, Attack of the Show! and more.
As reported by Deadline, Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dave Scott wrote a letter to all employees stating that G4 will be shut down immediately.
“Team: As you know, G4 was reintroduced last year to capitalize on the popularity of gaming,” Scott wrote. “We have invested to create the new G4 as an online and TV destination for fans to enjoy themselves, be inspired and connect with game content.
“Over the past few months we have worked hard to generate that interest in G4, but the viewership is low and the network has not achieved sustainable financial results. This is certainly not what we hoped for and as a result we have made the very difficult decision to to end G4 activities, effective immediately I know this is disappointing news and I am also disappointed I want to thank you and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and dedication to the network.
“Our staff team will contact you to support you, discuss other options that may be available, and answer any questions you may have.”
G4 was officially relaunched on November 16, 2021, and it was planned to not only launch on “Verizon Fios, Cox, and Xfinity TV’s channel series,” but also stream on “Philo and partner with Twitch on a multi-year promotional and commercial partnership through G4’s official Twitch channel.”
This news seems to come as a surprise as G4 presenter Jirard the Completionist shared that he learned through a tweet about the G4 shutdown of Wario64 that he had lost his job. Jirard wasn’t alone, as Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez revealed he was in “active negotiations” for his new contract with G4.
Emily Rose learned of the news through the Deadline article, while flying home from her grandfather’s funeral.
Our hearts go out to these three and everyone else affected by this news.
Hi! This tweet is how I found out how I lost my job! How neat!
— Jirard The Completionist (@Completionist) October 16, 2022
G4 was originally launched in 2002 and stopped programming in 2012 as it planned to relaunch as Esquire Network.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.