Walmart Sponsored Gaming Site Lays Off its editorial staff as it revamps its digital media business. The changes are coming at a difficult time for online gaming media, with publishers more focused on cutting operating costs while still providing coverage of major releases, reviews and industry news.
Editorial Team Makes Major Changes
The cuts will affect editorial positions that deliver gaming news, reviews and other written content. These have traditionally been the backbone of positions at gaming sites, but many publishers are moving to smaller teams and more focused content strategies.
As such, the latest budget cuts could affect how often the platform produces original reporting, as well as its coverage of major gaming events and product launches.
Walmart’s Gaming Strategy Keeps Evolving
Walmart has been looking more at opportunities within the gaming ecosystem, including e-commerce, digital entertainment and partnerships around gaming audiences. A media platform for gaming can expose players to more and create larger commercial opportunities for games and gaming hardware.
But running an editorial operation is an expensive proposition, particularly as digital advertising gets more competitive and audiences consume gaming news through social feeds, video and streaming services.
Gaming Media Industry Under Increasing Scrutiny
The cuts are a sign of broader troubles afflicting the gaming media business. Gaming sites are competing not just with traditional publications, but with YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, social-media personalities, and community-driven sites.
These rivals often can deliver gaming updates faster, and build highly engaged audiences, without the expense of large editorial organisations. That has left publishers looking at smaller editorial teams, video-first strategies and other ways to trim costs.
Industry shake-up could reshape gaming coverage
The reduction in editorial staff could have more far-reaching consequences for gaming journalism if this trend of cost-cutting continues in the gaming industry. Less reporting, fewer reviews, less coverage of the smaller games that don’t generate big ad dollars can mean fewer journalists.
It’s a case that demonstrates just how fast the digital media space is changing for gaming companies and audiences. Publishers are caught in a balancing act between editorial quality and financial sustainability as they compete for attention in an ever more crowded online marketplace.
Sources
- The Verge – Layoffs and changes affecting gaming media companies.
- Game Developer – Trends in the video game industry and restructuring.
- Kotaku – Editorial staff changes and media layoffs news at the gaming site.
- Variety – Reporting on digital media restructuring, layoffs and changing entertainment business strategies.
