By now I'm sure that most of you have heard that EGM has been discontinued as a result of UGO buying out 1UP, which is disappointing on its own. But what's even more heartbreaking is the fact that pretty much every 1UP personality that you may have come to know and love via things like the 1UP Show, Broken Pixels or one of the many podcasts, has been laid off.

Here's a list of those who will no longer be working for the 1UP Network:

Adrian Frieg
Amy Mishra
Amy Moran
Andrea Garcia
Andrew Fitch
Andrew "Skip" Pfister
Anthony Gallegos
Cesar Quintero
Christina Rosa
CoyLou Steel
Derek Chinn
Doug Parsons
Eric Ellis
Giancarlo Varanini
Greg Ford
James "Milkman" Mielke
Jason Bertrand
Jason Wilson
Jervilyn Jaramillo
Justin Frechette
Leslie Gelfand
Marci Yamaguchi
Matt Chandronait
May Tong
Meredith Stowe
Michael Donahoe
Monique Convertito
Ndubuisi Madu
Nick Suttner
Norris Boothe
Philip Kollar
Rey Serrano
Robert Bowen
Rosemary Pinkham
Ryan O'Donnell
Ryan Scott
Shane Bettenhausen
Simon Cox
Tammy Ross
Tipler Ubbelohde

This is a sad day, especially because I think the 1UP Yours podcast featured some of the best discussions about video games in the entire industry. I was really sad when Gerstmann was let go from GameSpot, and I'm feeling similar emotions here, but on a far greater scale. I have read EGM since I was a kid, and followed OPM for almost a decade, and loved the fact that I could hear some of those journalists speaking their minds in one place outside of print media. 1UP has definitely been my favourite plays for gaming news, reviews and commentary since it started, but all these people gone, it's just not the same. It has the same name, but the heart and soul is no longer there.

I just hope these people find new and better places to work. I know I'll be following some of them, though I fear some of them might get lost in the fray.

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