Harriet PriceIn February 2026, IGN-owned Eurogamer cut its entire four-person video production team and its most experienced editors, marking at least the second round of mass redundancies since Ziff Davis acquired the Gamer Network group in May 2024. The cuts also reached Outside Xbox, a popular YouTube channel with over 3.5 million subscribers. For the UK workers caught in this wave, knowing your legal rights is not optional — it is the difference between leaving with what you're owed and leaving with far less.
What Happened at Eurogamer in 2026
Eurogamer is one of the UK's most established gaming publications, and its latest round of cuts reflects a wider squeeze on digital media companies navigating difficult advertising markets and shifting content consumption habits. According to Video Games Chronicle, the February 2026 redundancies hit the brand's senior editorial ranks hardest, eliminating institutional knowledge built over years. Beyond Eurogamer, sister sites including Rock Paper Shotgun, VG247, and GamesIndustry.biz also fall under the Gamer Network umbrella — meaning the cuts could spread further across the portfolio.
For those affected, the shock is real. But the law offers several protections that UK workers are legally entitled to assert, regardless of how the redundancy is framed by the employer.
Your Right to a Statutory Redundancy Payment
If you have been employed continuously for at least two years, you are legally entitled to statutory redundancy pay under the Employment Rights Act 1996, as updated by the Employment Rights Act 2026. The amount is calculated based on three factors: your age, your length of service, and your weekly pay (capped at £643 per week as of April 2026).
The formula is straightforward: half a week's pay for each full year of service when you were under 22, one week's pay for each full year between 22 and 40, and one and a half week's pay for each full year aged 41 and over. This can add up significantly for long-serving journalists and video producers who have spent many years with a publication like Eurogamer.
If your employer tries to argue that your role is being restructured rather than made redundant, or offers you an alternative role that is unsuitable, you still retain the right to claim redundancy pay. An employment lawyer can help you establish whether a restructure genuinely qualifies as redundancy under UK law.
The Right to a Minimum Consultation Period
UK law requires employers to consult employees meaningfully before making redundancies. When 20 to 99 employees are being made redundant at a single establishment, a minimum 30-day collective consultation period is required. For 100 or more redundancies, this extends to 45 days. Even for individual redundancies, a fair process must be followed — which includes at least one face-to-face meeting, the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague, and a genuine opportunity to challenge the decision.
Employers who skip or rush consultation risk an Employment Tribunal claim for a protective award of up to 90 days' pay per affected employee. In the case of Eurogamer, where experienced staff were reportedly let go quickly, workers should check whether the consultation obligations were met. According to the UK government's official guidance on redundancy rights, failing to consult properly is one of the most common reasons redundancies are later found to be unfair.
The Right to Written Reasons and Notice Pay
Every redundant employee is entitled to receive written reasons for their dismissal if they have at least two years of continuous service. Beyond this, you are entitled to either your contractual notice period (the period stated in your employment contract) or the statutory minimum — whichever is longer. The statutory minimum starts at one week for one year of service and rises by one week for each additional year, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
If you were dismissed without notice — or asked to leave on the day the redundancy was announced — this may constitute wrongful dismissal in addition to redundancy. Many employers offer payment in lieu of notice (PILON), which is taxable, but you should verify that the full amount owed has been calculated correctly.
UK media workers should also check for any enhanced redundancy terms in their employment contract. Some contracts — especially for senior or long-serving roles — include enhanced packages negotiated by unions or at the point of hire, which go beyond the statutory minimum.
The Right to Appeal Your Redundancy
A point many workers overlook: you have the right to appeal against a redundancy decision. If you believe the process was unfair — for example, the selection criteria were discriminatory, the consultation was a sham, or a suitable alternative role existed and was not offered to you — you can raise a formal appeal with your employer before considering an Employment Tribunal claim.
Employment Tribunals are increasingly accessible without legal representation, but complex cases involving senior roles, long-serving employees, or allegations of discriminatory selection often benefit from specialist legal advice. The Employment Rights Act 2026, which expanded workers' protections in several areas including day-one rights for unfair dismissal claims, has made the landscape more favourable for employees in many respects.
For those affected by the Eurogamer cuts — or watching nervously as the wider UK games media industry faces further consolidation — the message from employment lawyers is consistent: act quickly, document everything, and take professional advice early. The clock for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim runs from the date of dismissal, generally giving you just three months minus one day.
For media workers across the UK navigating the current industry contraction, a consultation with an employment lawyer is the clearest way to understand exactly what you're owed and whether your redundancy was handled lawfully. ExpertZoom connects you with specialist employment lawyers who can assess your situation and advise on next steps.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are facing redundancy, seek independent legal advice specific to your circumstances.
See also how younger workers are navigating the Employment Rights Act 2026, and what the Jaguar Land Rover cuts mean for UK worker redundancy rights.
