Walmart-backed video game outlet Restart has laid off its entire editorial team.
Restart news editor Imran Khan and editor-in-chief Brandy Berthelson both confirmed the news on Bluesky, with Berthelson suggesting the decision will also mark the end of their game media career.
“Well, it happened again. The entire editorial team at Restart, myself included, was laid off today. With that, my time in games media has also come to an end,” they wrote. “After 20 years, helping to build and run multiple sites, and experiencing numerous layoffs, I just don’t have it in me anymore.”
As noted by Aftermath, Restart was established in December 2024 with backing from marketing outfit Moonrock and Walmart. The website styled itself as an independent outlet despite receiving support from one of the largest retailers in the United States.
“Restart.run is powered by Walmart, but Restart.run operates as an independent site. When we mention a game, we’ll provide purchase links that will take you to Walmart using a partner tracking code. This link provides us with 0% of the sale if you decide to buy the product, but it does help Walmart see exactly how customers arrived at the product. Walmart doesn’t influence our editorial direction,” reads a 2024 announcement from Berthelson that is still live at the time of writing. “We hope you can see this gives us zero incentive to provide biased review scores or other information about a game.”
The game media landscape continues to shrink as a result of widespread layoffs. In recent years, notable outlets including GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, and Polygon have all lost talent who have either been forced out of the door or accepted buyouts (soft layoffs).
Earlier this year, TheGamer parent company Valnet demonstrated another way to hamstring the game media industry by reportedly implementing a new payment system that will see journalists paid based on how many views their articles generate. It was a move that seemingly left many writers considering their future at the outlet.
As career pathways within traditional media continue to be clipped by corporate owners, an increasing number of journalists are going independent in a bid to succeed on their own terms. Last year, we spoke with a handful of those reporters to better understand the rise and risk of independent media.