Current Events > Fandom lays off 11% of staff; GameSpot affected

(+) Yeah! (+)

Its yet another grim day in games media, and Fandom the wiki network that owns GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Metacritic, and GameFAQs, among others is once again to blame. Todays layoffs were especially severe: According to several current Fandom employees who spoke to Aftermath on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, Fandom has laid off 11 percent of its staff. On the games media side of things, that includes many GameSpot video team members and GameSpot UK.

The day began with GameSpot staffers taking to social media to announce that theyd lost their jobs. "GameSpot was the goal. Reached it sooner than I thought I would," wrote GameSpot video producer DeVante Chisolm. "Now that it's over... idk." "While I may have issues with the folks who have owned GameSpot throughout my time there, I always loved working with the GameSpot team," wrote senior editor Chris Hayner. "Best team I've been on. We made so much out of so little and made it work."

According to current Fandom staff, employees were invited to an all-hands meeting earlier today in which CEO Perkins Miller broke the news, chalking the layoffs up to a broader restructuring of the company in the face of market changes, as well as a failure to hit revenue goals. In addition to GameSpot UK and video team members, Fandom employees in sales and management were also affected, say current employees from Fandoms gaming group, who are still taking stock of damage to the company beyond their own departments. On social media, staff from Screen Junkies, the Fandom-owned home of pop culture video series like "Honest Trailers," also reported that theyve been let go.

Despite all this, gaming remains a core part of Fandom's business, though one current employee added that "Gaming is still a focus in that they don't have any other focuses." A Fandom representative declined to provide further details on record. GameSpot staff were blindsided and now find themselves once again picking up the pieces, after weathering another round of layoffs just a few months after Fandom purchased the site in 2023, as well as a smaller batch earlier this year.

"Its rough," one current employee told Aftermath. "A big part of that is because we didnt really see it coming. ... It was a bit of a rugpull."

So weird that Fandom misses their financial goals after buying dead websites and doing nothing to increase traffic.

So weird that Fandom misses their financial goals after buying dead websites and doing nothing to increase traffic.

Unbanning Vegy and Neon took all their budget

So weird that Fandom misses their financial goals after buying dead websites and doing nothing to increase traffic.

GameFAQs gonna be closing soon.

GameFAQs gonna be closing soon.

Me and No_U_L7 might be able to buy gamefaqs on a cheap now

Hey Fandom, given the current state of affairs, I'll purchase the rights to GameFAQs for $10,000.

Take it or leave it.

Sorry you over bid. I got it for $1.

So, will we at least exist through the election next week? Or will there be an 'all employees invited' meeting for Gamefaqs this upcoming Friday in which they're told to GTFO?

great, my CEbucks are worthless now.

great, my CEbucks are worthless now.

It's because the Poll of the Day has been missing a couple times this year.

So weird that Fandom misses their financial goals after buying dead websites and doing nothing to increase traffic.

Maybe instead of closing Gamefaqs they will just sell it to better owners. Maybe PornHUB (or whatever their parent company is called) will buy it. There is a strong connection between pornography viewership and Gamers. Just ask Fandom with their ads.

Maybe doing things to destroy the websight's only remaining traffic was a bad decision.

Safety and trust!