MOBA Network Acquires ResetEra For $4.5 Million

Rewinding back to 2017, community-driven forum NeoGAF effectively shut down following accusations towards site owner Tyler Malka at the time. While lights went out for the website, many migrated towards ResetEra as the website was oriented to be a new hub for users to talk video games with a larger window for inclusivity and no tolerance for toxic culture.

Although the website remained independent since, much of its income comes from advertisements on the website alongside member subscriptions for premium status. In a new announcement this week, ResetEra has been sold to Swedish firm M.O.B.A. Network for $4.5 million. The payment is to be sent in to installments ending by late December.

We are very excited and proud to welcome ResetEra.com – one of the world’s largest gaming forum and community brands – to our growing number of brands. ResetEra.com has great growth potential, and we see significant opportunities to develop ResetEra.com, continue to grow traffic flows, improve the sales development and extract synergies within the M.O.B.A. Group.

ResetEra.com is another step in our strategy to grow through acquisitions and create more relevant communities with attractive, growing target groups that many companies want to expose themselves to.

Bjorn Mannerqvist, M.O.B.A. Network CEO

Elsewhere in a separate ResetEra post, owner Cerium goes to elaborate on the decision for M.O.B.A. Network’s acquisition. “The pressure of being the sole owner of ResetEra has always remained, however, and personal health concerns have made it increasingly difficult to shoulder that on my own. I’ve wrestled with this decision for a long time now, but when I’m honest with myself I know I won’t be able to keep doing this forever. The right thing to do was to find a responsible buyer for the site.

“There were several potential buyers to consider, but in the end the clear best fit was MOBA Network. They’re a company based in Sweden which owns a number of community-driven gaming websites; they have a good track record of acquiring sites and giving them the resources to succeed without interfering with how they’re run. Crucially, they have absolutely no desire to change the ResetEra community or its culture in any way.”

Noted, Cerium comments that users will be negotiations for payment for backend members of ResetEra as they retain complete independence following the arrangement. “The staff will retain total independence when it comes to moderation and the day-to-day management of the site. That independence will be held as absolutely sacred, in the same way that editorial independence is treated at journalistic publications.”

However, moderators are still considered ‘volunteers’ which might not qualify for payment. “The people who’ve been handling paid work, such as the tech team, will be making their own arrangements with MOBA Network to continue doing what they do. Moderators are still volunteers.”

What are your thoughts on the purchase of ResetEra?

Source: M.O.B.A. Network, ResetEra