IGN has laid off an unspecified number of editorial employees today, Polygon has learned, and plans to shutter sites 1up.com, GameSpy.com and UGO.com.
According to an internal memo from Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah, "Our goal is to do fewer things and to do them exceptionally well. In that vein, we want to direct all of our energy and work behind our two flagship brands: IGN and AskMen."
Shah writes that Ziff Davis, which recently acquired the IGN network of websites, will be "winding down" 1UP, UGO and GameSpy. UGO editor-in-chief Chris Radtke wrote in a goodbye letter to readers, "UGO is dead." While editorial staffers for some of the IGN-owned shuttered sites have been laid off, sources tell Polygon that some personell will be rolled into IGN.com's editorial team.