By Staff Reports
Published: August 7, 2026
Main Facts
The volatile landscape of games media has suffered yet another major blow. Restart, the Walmart-sponsored video game culture and news website launched in late 2024, has abruptly laid off its entire editorial staff.
The sweeping cuts were confirmed on Friday via social media by the publication’s former editor-in-chief, Brandy Berthelson, who stated that the “entire editorial team” had been eliminated. Multiple other staffers subsequently took to platforms like Bluesky to corroborate the news of their sudden termination.
Operated by the content marketing agency Moonrock and financially "powered" by retail giant Walmart, Restart was originally positioned as a corporate-backed alternative to traditional gaming journalism outlets. While the site remains live online as of this writing, the sudden purge of its writers and editors casts serious doubt on its operational future. Representatives for both Walmart and Moonrock have yet to issue official public statements regarding the layoffs or the long-term viability of the publication.
Chronology: The Rise and Sudden Fall of Restart
To understand the sudden collapse of Restart’s newsroom, it is necessary to examine the brief but turbulent timeline of the publication and the modern corporate media landscape.
- August 2024: Retail giant GameStop abruptly shuts down Game Informer, the legendary print and digital gaming magazine it had owned for decades, sparking outrage across the industry and leaving a massive vacuum in mainstream games media.
- Late 2024: Sensing an opening in the market, retail competitor Walmart steps into the gaming media ecosystem. Partnering with content marketing agency Moonrock, Walmart launches Restart, a dedicated digital gaming publication designed to cover reviews, features, and industry news.
- Late 2024 – Mid 2026: Restart operates as a digital-first editorial outlet. The site explicitly brands itself as an "independent site" editorially insulated from Walmart’s corporate interests, featuring buy-links tracking consumer traffic back to Walmart’s storefront.
- August 7, 2026: Former editor-in-chief Brandy Berthelson announces on social media that the entire editorial team has been laid off. Affected staff members begin sharing news of their departure, with at least one confirming they have signed a severance agreement facilitated by Moonrock.
- Present: Restart’s website remains functional, but stripped of its creators, leaving readers and industry watchers questioning whether the platform will pivot to automated content, rely entirely on sponsored PR materials, or shut down completely.
Supporting Data and Business Model
The demise of Restart highlights the delicate, often precarious economics of brand-funded journalism. When the site debuted in late 2024, it arrived hot on the heels of the original Game Informer shutdown. Retailers recognized that gaming enthusiasts represent a highly lucrative demographic, prompting corporate entities to experiment with in-house or sponsored media properties.
However, Restart operated under a unique—and frequently scrutinized—business model. According to the site’s official editorial mission page, Moonrock ran the day-to-day operations while Walmart served as the financial engine.
The editorial mission page outlined Walmart’s commercial integration as follows:
"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."
Despite these direct commercial tie-ins, the publication heavily emphasized its editorial firewall, asserting that it operated as an independent site and that Walmart exerted zero influence over its daily coverage decisions.
Critics, however, often questioned the sustainability and perceived objectivity of brand-owned media. Unlike traditional publications that rely on programmatic advertising, subscriptions, or venture capital, corporate-backed content hubs are routinely vulnerable to sudden strategic shifts within their parent corporations. When quarterly financial priorities change or marketing budgets tighten, dedicated editorial teams are often the first expenditure to face the chopping block.
Official Responses and Industry Silence
As the news broke on Friday, the official response from the corporate entities steering Restart was deafeningly silent.
When contacted for comment by various industry reporters, representatives from both Walmart and Moonrock did not immediately reply. Former editor-in-chief Brandy Berthelson noted in a Bluesky post that she is legally “not able” to discuss the specific details surrounding the layoffs.
Meanwhile, at least one affected staff member confirmed to The Verge that they had successfully negotiated and signed a severance agreement through Moonrock prior to public disclosure. The lack of an upfront corporate press release or transparency regarding the future of the domain leaves the remaining stakeholders—and the readers who followed the site’s coverage—in the dark.
Implications for Corporate Media and Games Journalism
The gutting of Restart’s newsroom carries significant implications, both for the wider games media industry and for the concept of brand-funded journalism as a whole.
1. The Fragility of Brand-Funded Media
The rapid collapse of Restart serves as a cautionary tale for writers entering corporate-backed publications. While these outlets often provide competitive compensation and a brief window of editorial freedom, they lack the institutional resilience of independent media companies. When retail giants like Walmart decide to reallocate marketing expenditures, experimental content hubs can be terminated overnight with little public accountability.
2. A Shrinking Ecosystem for Games Writers
The closure or restructuring of Restart compounds an already devastating multi-year trend of layoffs across tech and games journalism. With outlets like Game Informer experiencing historic turbulence (though later seeing attempts at revival under new ownership) and traditional enthusiast press contracting, professional games writers face an increasingly narrow pool of stable employment opportunities.
3. What Lies Ahead for Restart?
As of now, the Restart website remains online, packed with months of archives, guides, and reviews. However, without an editorial team to generate original reporting, conduct interviews, or produce breaking news, the site cannot sustain its previous output. Industry analysts suggest that Walmart and Moonrock may either mothball the domain entirely, transition the site into an automated product catalog, or utilize the platform strictly as an affiliate-marketing landing page devoid of authentic journalistic voice.
Ultimately, the fall of Restart underscores a harsh modern reality: in the intersection of corporate retail and digital media, editorial teams remain dangerously expendable.