GBEast is going to be pretty dire, but I don't think the decision itself is that alarming. Working for the WWE in some capacity seems like the dude's life goal.
I'm not saying it wasn't one of his goals, but it's a pretty decent step down from his current title in Video Games (which was another life goal). The part that stuck out to me is that
- His new job will require travel (WWE is essentially a traveling circus) to a degree, where as his existing job doesn't. He got married not a long time ago so I can't imagine he likes the idea of being away from his wife and dog for long periods.
- His current job was also a "life goal"
- His new title "podcast producer" sounds like it likely pays less than his old title of "Content Producer, Senior" - doubly so when WWE is a notoriously stingy company to work for. Going from a senior title to a normal one is not a lateral move for him.
- Most telling, is that he is a huge part of Giantbomb East (they literally moved him out there for it), but they were
not willing or unable to retain him.
When people leave a company, you should always examine it.
Patrick Klepek left for (what he considered) a better opprotuniy, as Giantbomb wasn't allegedly "preachy enough" for him.
Austin Walker left for a
much better opportunity, CBS wasn't going to pay him an Editor in Chief's salary to stay.
Drew Scanlon left but to pursue a different opprutinity. CBS wasn't going to pay for him to travel the world to produce content when he was already producing it in a studio.
Dan Ryckert left for a worse job at a shitter company - there's likely a reason why this happened. Either he did something awful where he got let go, or the environment there is so awful he felt better about taking a worse job elsewhere. This is why it should be alarming for Jeff/Vinny, good people don't typically leave your company for less money and worse working conditions unless you're doing something wrong. It's also alarming because who do you replace him with in the video game hiring landscape of 2020? The last round got us Abby and Ben, who are awful.