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The spike being attributed to Gamergate wasn't Gamergate at all - GG in fact led to thousands of users leaving 4chan for 8chan (and Twitter, which caused problems in its own way), while the Redditors stayed on Reddit because Redditors always stay on Reddit even when Reddit haet them

It was The Fappening around the same time that brought in a massive influx of n00bs to 4chan, at a time when many of the "old guard" were bailing. This lead to a lack of assimilation, and the rapid development of newer, shittier site culture - 4chan in early-2015 felt completely different to 4chan circa mid-2014

The big conservative/Trump-supporter influx that saw /pol/ become the most active board was also largely from places like Facebook and via IRL word of mouth, as opposed to Reddit. 4chan and 8chan were being promoted as Free Speech️ sites for True Patriots️ among conservative crowds, who traditionally wouldn't have touched imageboards with a 10-foot pole