GameSpot layoffs

It looks like there's a round of layoffs happening over at GameSpot. Carolyn Petit is the first casualty, which is a huge bummer because she was easily their most gifted writer.

I wonder if this is part of an overall tightening up at CBSi or if GameSpot is changing direction somehow. Anyway, my thoughts are with those affected. Here's hoping they all land on their feet.

I've added a list of all those affected below. Thanks, @bacongames.

Known Casualties

• Carolyn Petit
• Tom McShea
• Ryan Mac Donald
• Justin Calvert
• Maxwell McGee
• Wernher Goff
• Benito Gonzalez

There's been a bunch of speculation about how this might affect Giant Bomb, but according to Patrick this round of layoffs won't affect the site. Let's not get prematurely pessimistic.

I'm really bummed by this! I mean, I'll be honest. The only stuff I go to on GameSpot these days (regularly) is the stuff that Danny O'Dwyer is involved in, so I guess I might be part of the problem, but this is still bad.

I wish the best for them.

Layoffs can suck a fat chode.

Sorry to everyone that lost their jobs. I can't believe Carolyn would get laid off. She's great!

Carolyn is a major loss. She is always really eloquent and knowledgeable about so many of the important issues that the games industry faces at the moment.

Is there any official word on the layoffs?

Damn, that's really shitty.

All the best to Carolyn and everyone else affected.

This is a bummer. She was one of Gamespot's better contributors and will definitely be missed.

That's unfortunate news. I'm curious if this means changes are coming to Gamespot's identity.

Here's hoping for a quick recovery for everyone who was laid off today.

Oh wow. That really sucks.

This is a major bummer either way. But is there any info that points to it being layoffs or is it possible Caroline Petit was let go?
Besides Jason's tweet?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I really hate to do this, but Alex just changed his twitter name to "a colossal bummer" and his last tweet was "deep sigh". I really hope no one at GB was fired....

EDIT: apparently he's been "colossal bummer" for awhile now. take what I said with a very tiny grain of salt.

Wow that's a bummer. She's a great writer and a great voice to have within the industry, hopefully she and anyone else bounces back quickly.

I wonder what this means for Gamespot and CBSi overall. Gamespot always seemed a little bloated in terms of staff but I assumed they did enough traffic to make up for it all. And recently they've seemed to become more focused with their content emphasizing live streams, live chat, and topical discussions. They've been highlighting new and unique games with some of their shows and really though they were on their way to some really good stuff.

Gamespot has so much staff there sometimes I don't see people for months and just assume they don't work there anymore, then they pop up on a livestream. But yeah Caro, Kevin and McShea are the writers that I go there for primarily. The Danny video stuff goes without saying.

@rongalaxy: I think he's been Colossal Bummer for a while now.

Carolyn (or Caroline; however it's spelled) mentioned "some colleagues." A vague hint, yes, but something to go on.

I would hope CBSi wasn't that dumb of a company to let them hire two dudes only to fire others...

@rongalaxy: His twitter name has been "A Colossal Bummer" for a little while.

Awhile back it seemed like they jettisoned their UK staff, but I wasn't paying enough attention to tell that for sure.

I never really noticed until now, which is convenient in a bad way.

@foxmulder said:

Yeah, I also don't imagine CBSi management is budgeting GB East to have a studio setup for Vinny and Alex, just in time to fire...who? Newly promoted podcast host Brad? EIC Jeff? Only news writer the site has, Patrick?

If money was tight on the GB side, they just wouldn't have hired Dan and Jason at all.

Carolyn was probably their best writer. Sucks for anyone gone.

But lime a few have said sometimes I don't see some staff for weeks and weeks. Looks like they are going with more of the giant bomb type small group mentality. At least in the relative form of the big gaming websites.

Wow, that's unbelievably awful. I'm genuinely shocked. Given GiantBomb's positive trajectory I thought GS was ok too.

Carolyn is a big big loss for them, it makes you wonder how deep the cuts went.

Best wishes to those affected.

Super sad. She was an excellent writer, and I always loved her opinions. She was fantastic opposite Kevin on Gamespot Gameplay, and is a voice I am sorely going to miss.

Shit I'm bummed. Loved Carolyn's reviews. Hope we'll still see her around and she'll continue to write about games.

gamespot has generally alot of people on staff and is quite big. so layoffs are not unusual.

but still Carolyn was a great writer, hopefully she wont have any trouble finding a new place quickly ^^

Wait what? Carolyn was like one of Gamespot's premier people! I don't want anyone to be laid off but if someone has to go I have no idea why she of all people would be top of the list.

Also, this is not gonna help calm the people who give Carolyn constant shit and call for her to be fired in the Gamespot comment sections.

You'd think that after the Jeff Gerstmann controversy they would have learned their lesson by now.

Gamespot has been hit with a few layoffs the last few years, so this wasn't very surprising. They seem to be going more towards video content, and my guess is that this has something to do with that (Carolyn more or less only did written content). Gamespot brought over 40 people to E3 this year, so they have an absurd amount of staff.

Still, sad for those affected.

I don't visit GameSpot enough to know any of the people outside of those who've made appearances (Carolyn being one) on this site, but it's still a bummer to hear. Best of luck in their future ventures.

@euandewar: If I had to make a wild guess, is it possible that GS is going to veer more towards video coverage? So someone who is "the site's best writer", as many are saying in this thread, is less of an asset?

I'm guessing people like Danny O'Dwyer and Chris Waters are fine due to the video content they're involved in, but maybe they're decreasing their focus on actual written articles?

Bummer, not surprising though. I would hate to be pursuing a job as a games journalist these days.

I only go to Gamespot for their live streams and Carolyn hasn't been on those in a while (and, if I can be frank, I didn't always enjoy her appearances) so this isn't a total surprise. Gamespot having layoffs at all though definitely is, all the renovations they've been doing to their site and live broadcast presentation had me under the impression they were rolling in dough. I hope everybody lands on their feet, and didn't mean anything negative towards Carolyn, I have high hopes for her too. I just didn't experience her much, and when I did it was a little off putting (not for those reasons, I enjoyed Sam Kallman just fine).

This really sucks.

@bisonhero: You're probably right but even if that were my criteria Carolyn would still not be top of the list.

That's a bummer. I didn't really follower her work, but the stuff I did read I enjoyed. I hope she and everyone that lost their jobs are able to find new footing.

Sounds like VanOrd survived but the cuts may have been deep :(

Bummer for those without jobs. I haven't used Gamespot in years but I don't like hearing about people being let go, but that is life.

I'm perfectly fine with video coverage in itself, but that's kind of a depressing thing to consider. Unlikely, I would think, but still.

@slag: Glad to see he's survived the cuts, but man, it sounds like most of the editorial staff got the axe, judging by his tweet.

So how does this stuff usually work? Do the people concerned usually have an idea that this is going to happen, or do they just come to work one day and find out it's their last?

I don't know the details, but I hate even the idea that we live in a world where the written word just isn't good enough anymore. I know, video's easier to consume, but fuck that - the written word is and should always be the gauge for serious journalism quality.

I'm of the opinion that, while layoffs always suck, I can kind of understand it too.

I really do hope that GameSpot figures out how to do better at video and livestreaming content, because that's pretty much the only content I really enjoy on GameSpot now. I loved their 7th Guest stream that I caught a while back.

For me, Carolyn was always known as the writer who had some questionable views on games, as she tended to have a reputation for thinking that if a character in a game was negative, then the game itself was problematic and bad for the game industry. That always seemed like an odd leap of logic to me, and reminded me a lot of the "Doom encourages shooting people, and it's problematic and bad for the game industry" claims from a scattered few magazine/newspaper reviewers of the 1990s.

I'm sure she meant well, but her views did come across as a little dated, with a chip on her shoulder about certain issues.

This sucks. Best wishes to everyone. I hope you all land on your feet. If there is a silver lining here its that the industry usually takes care of its own during times like this.

McShea just announced he is also affected. Shawn will have to take up the role of office weirdo, but I fear he cannot do it justice.

Man. Tom :/

@cale: Layoffs can really go either way. Sometimes you're straight up told there are going to be layoffs, sometimes it's vague rumors, or sometimes you have no clue and it's a message to immediately clear out your desk and hit the bricks.

Tom McShea was also let go :(

https://twitter.com/TomMcShea/status/494585135182778368

And another. This sucks.