The site's entire editorial staff was unexpectedly laid off "on the authority of the company's board of directors," according to Joystiq, with company co-founder and CEO Chris Heldman resigning in protest. The staff will be paid for the remainder of the month, though the layoffs are effective immediately, as reflected by the site's Twitter.

Other community-oriented sites owned by parent company Crispy Gamer Media, Inc--GamerDNA, 360voice and Tweet My Gaming--appear unaffected.

"It's hard to see a dream die, especially one you put your heart and soul into," Crispy Gamer co-founder John Keefer, who left the company in September to join GamePolitics, told Joystiq. " The site was created for the readers and to give them an alternative voice, to dig deeper than many of the sites out there and to make readers think about what they play and why they play. Personally, I had a lot of fun in the process. Thanks to all the people that read the site and became part of the growing community."