Hi friends, gamers, and tech lovers alike. My name is Lexi Lee and as the title states, I’m the VP of Revue Labs. I would like to tell you a story.

Back in January, Steve Tom Sawyer and I started a company. The company was founded on one idea: unbiased gaming journalism. We thought that transparency in the industry was a good thing, writers getting paid in a timely manner was a good thing, and freeing writers to just be able to write and not care about office/advertiser politics was a very good thing. We wanted to provide well written articles and reviews via blind funding in order to ensure not only the appearance of neutrality but actual neutrality. Unfortunately back then, we didn’t have much of an audience. At that time, companies as well as gamers did not see the value in such a system. Frankly, they didn’t see a need for it. But a storm was brewing.

That storm, as it turns out, was #GamerGate. Mired in controversy, it was a risky movement to be involved in. Steve and I had many a heated exchange over it, because frankly I did not want to be involved, so much so that I almost walked away from the company. In my own life, I have dealt with my share of challenges as a female not just in games, but in the world of technology. As a victim of sexual violence, I consider myself a survivor and the last thing I wanted to do was put my name on something that was a machine of victimization and violent threats, from either side of the issue. The hope was that the conversation could be steered constructively and that our intentions would be very clear. This has not turned out to be the case.

For Revue Labs, unbiased journalism was what we were fighting for all along. We were trying to offer an alternative to the status quo and it continues to be our mission. We were looking forward to the conversation moving beyond a hashtag to (hopefully) be one of many such publications that could offer a more grassroots approach to gaming. To cover stories that gamers were interested beyond just the headlines. And we do it out of a love of games and the gamers who play them.

With all that said, we will no longer use the #GamerGate hashtag. Attacks have escalated more and more each day and our company can no longer be silent. Our unwavering dedication to journalistic integrity has not changed. We feel the best way that we can contribute to this incredibly diverse culture is to do our best to be an example of what a gaming website should be. We hope that you will stay with us on this journey, but if not, safe travels to you and yours.

Most Sincerely,

Lexi Lee

(Edited for clarity. It was never my intention to suggest that #GamerGate supporters were a machine of victimization and violent threats. I hope that my intention in my statement was clear.)