New data reveals distressing employment trends within the gaming sector
The gaming industry has witnessed a staggering loss of over 6,100 jobs throughout the past year due to layoffs and studio closures, as disclosed by new data.
Farhan Noor, a technical artist, has diligently tracked layoff figures on videogameslayoffs.com since the beginning of 2023. The provided information includes estimates of employees affected, acknowledging that some companies choose not to disclose precise numbers, suggesting that the actual job losses could be even higher.
According to Noor’s data, September emerged as the most challenging month for the gaming industry, with 17 companies implementing job cuts—the highest recorded so far this year.
The reasons behind the drastic surge in redundancies during 2023 are multifaceted. Analysts, recruiters, and investors speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, attributed the unsettling trend to the current economic climate. Factors such as elevated interest rates, slowed growth, escalating production costs, and intensified competition collectively contribute to the frequent occurrences of layoffs.
Over 80 gaming companies and media outlets have faced layoffs, and 11 studios, including Calypte, Dang, Puny Human, Volition Games, Mimimi Games, Vanpool, CyberConnect2 Montreal, Antimatter Games, Campfire Cabal, Kiloo Games, and PixelOpus, have been forced to shut down.
Embracer Group led in terms of layoffs, executing seven rounds across its subsidiaries during a restructuring initiative. Impacted studios encompassed Crystal Dynamics, Beamdog, Rainbow Studios, Volition, Gearbox Publishing, and Campfire Cabal.
Unity topped the list in the number of affected employees within a single-parent company, with 900 layoffs occurring across two rounds in January and May. Epic Games followed closely, laying off 830 employees in the preceding month, including British studio Mediatonic. Amazon also experienced a substantial number of terminations at Twitch, with layoffs both earlier in the year and more recently.
Major corporations in other industries, including Microsoft (including Bethesda Game Studios and 343 Industries), Meta, Disney, and Amazon, reported layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of gaming personnel.
The extensive list of layoffs this year encompasses renowned entities such as Telltale Games, Keywords Studios, Naughty Dog, Team17, Creative Assembly, Epic Games, Mediatonic, Blizzard Entertainment, Roblox, Crystal Dynamics, and numerous others. The challenging landscape continues to impact developers, publishers, and media outlets, prompting a comprehensive reevaluation of the industry’s future stability.
