[Updated]Former Editors-in-chief of Kotaku, Joystiq and The Escapist join Vox Media to create new gaming site

Online media company Vox Media announced today that they will be adding a brand new site focused on video game coverage to its suite of popular portals.

Much like it did earlier this year with technology site The Verge, Vox went on a talent hunt to establish an editorial staff prior to actually building the site and the results are rather impressive. Here’s the staff announced so far:

• Brian Crecente — former editor-in-chief of Kotaku
• Chris Grant — former editor-in-chief of Joystiq
• Russ Pitts — former editor-in-chief of The Escapist
• Justin and Griffin McElroy — former managing/reviews editors of Joystiq and hosts of the comedy podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me
• Arthur Gies — former previews editor of Joystiq and host of Rebel FM
• Russ Frushtick — formerly of MTV Multiplayer
• Chris Plante — freelancer who has written for Edge, New York Magazine and The Daily

That’s quite a haul.

The new site will be running off the same technology and content delivery platform behind The Verge, but more importantly is being built from the ground up by its staff.

The move is particularly interesting because it poached several high-profile editors from Joystiq, an AOL blog. Earlier this year, Vox, which also owns the sports network SB Nation, pulled a similar maneuver, nabbing a handful of the most prominent editors from AOL’s Engadget blog to create rival website The Verge.

A launch date for the site has not been announced and is likely far off — most member of the staff announced their departures little more than a week ago. The new site’s staff will be posting stories on The Verge in the interim.

Update:

From the sounds of it Chris Grant will be taking the position of editor-in-chief of the new site. Pitts will act as features editor, Gies as reviews editor, Justin McElroy as managing editor and Crecente as news editor.