It’s not too surprising that Nick got fired given
The Escapist’s desperate attempts at monetization of late. Zero Punctuation videos typically start with a short 30‐second ad for some other
Escapist property, read by Yahtzee himself. But recently blatant 1‐minute ads (preceding a 5‐minute review) from external sponsors have been showing up in the high‐profile review videos such as Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3. A review just two months ago even had an advertisement
within the video. Notably, Yahtzee did not deign to perform these ad spots for external sponsors himself, a sign of how much pull he had within the company.
Another sign of how much of a moneymaker ZP is for The Escapist is how in the last few years it’s rebranded to use the distinctive “limbless white figure” art style, an invention of ZP, throughout Escapist’s other blogs and podcasts.
Ticking off Yahtzee by firing Nick has taken out what’s almost certainly The Escapist’s biggest source of revenue.
Another sign of how much of a moneymaker ZP is for The Escapist is how in the last few years it’s rebranded to use the distinctive “limbless white figure” art style, an invention of ZP, throughout Escapist’s other blogs and podcasts.
Ticking off Yahtzee by firing Nick has taken out what’s almost certainly The Escapist’s biggest source of revenue.