For Polygon, 2014 was all about refinement — finding the parts of our site that readers loved the most and putting our full weight behind them -- and growth, specifically through our social media channels. We’ve also worked to expand our scope, expanding our initial focus on solely gaming to include all areas of popular culture.

What’s new: We added two new voices to the site, former Penny Arcade Report editor-in-chief Ben Kuchera and Owen Good, formerly of Kotaku. Both have helped to shape and expand Polygon’s editorial mission and readership. We’ve also added new products, like our #1 iTunes-rated gaming podcast Quality Control and Overview, a video series that lets readers see the latest games in action. Perhaps most exciting in 2014 has been our exponential growth in readership and reach. To give just one extremely exciting statistic: Our roughly 45,000 Facebook likes at the beginning of the year has grown a whopping 616% to well over 277,000.

What’s next: As mentioned, we’ve begun expanding Polygon’s coverage into movies, TV, comics and music, a move that’s been a huge hit with readers. We’re investing on that in that in the coming months, recruiting an entertainment editor to help guide Polygon’s expansion beyond gaming. We’re also planning a renewed focus in video in the new year as we bring on fresh talent to ensure whenever our audience wants to watch games and culture rather than just read about them, Polygon is there. We’ll also be playing a ton of Minecraft for … uhh, research. Yeah, research, that’s the ticket.