New York - Crispy Gamer, a new independent video game news and reviews website, announced on Monday its launch and an $8.25 million first round of funding, from Constellation Ventures and the company's founders.

New York-based Crispy Gamer was launched by Chris Heldman, former head of media entertainment at Google; John Keefer, former editorial director at GameSpy; and Chris Hoerenz, former chief marketing officer at eMusic.

Crispy Gamer will refuse to accept advertising from game publishers, a move it says will allow for "fearless and credible industry reporting." The company said its site launched with more than 1 million unique visitors.

"Crispy Gamer was formed with a respect for the place of games in popular culture," said CEO Chris Heldman.

"Gaming is a massive entertainment medium that draws an incredibly passionate, opinionated and dedicated fan base. We want to serve the gamer culture with an honest voice and a contemporary community experience.

"To seal our authenticity for critical opinion, we will eliminate any perceived or actual sway dictated by ad dollars coming from the game publishers."

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