But Microsoft pinky promised that allowing them to breach anti-trust law would not result in layoffs.
One-Third of U.S. Video Game Industry Workers Were Laid Off Over the Last Two Years, GDC Study Reveals
Submitted 1 day ago by simple@piefed.social to games@lemmy.world
https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/one-third-video-game-workers-laid-off-2025-1236644512/
Comments
pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 23 hours ago
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Shouldn’t indy studios be springing up everywhere?
Jeffool@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Investment money is not as plentiful as it was several years ago. I’ve heard it in several interviews with developers or devs themselves. (Game Maker’s Notebook, Mike and Rami are still here, and a few devs on YouTube )
Fandangalo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I was included in this. Was laid off back in June 2025 from Echtra. One of the best places I ever worked.
The industry is super tough. I got very lucky & started a new job at the beginning of the month. Being out of work for 6 months sucked, and some people I mentor have been out much longer.
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
What would happen if the layed off created new studios together?
eronth@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Being able to get in contact easily (with the laid off) would be rough, and creating a new studio with no passive income and only promises is a hard sell. But that’s honestly not a terrible idea. Get devs to coalesce into indie studios ready to make whatever passion game they’ve had rattling around.
rumba@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
All the venture switched over to AI. Nobody wants to fund new studios. Games are brutal, only one in a massive pile ever become profitable. Gamedev is roughly full time work, but they still need to eat.
grapefruittrouble@lemmy.zip 9 hours ago
bitter sweet. hoping that those who were laid off continue developing some great indie games. that’s where the market is headed anyways
Damage@feddit.it 12 hours ago
That’s fucking brutal
Kjell@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
is it dot com bubble levels of lay offs?
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Based on cursory search: not yet, but 2023-present have been highest layoff levels since 2001. Again, I know nothing.
rumba@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
It’s messy, there are a lot of people laid off, but also there are a lot of companies snatching up talent. I know some games people that have been laid off three times in the past 2 years :/
taiyang@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Not too surprised. What I’ve seen from friends and family in the industry is a mix of union busting and natural shrinking after the 2020 boom. AI is kinda frowned upon for those AAA companies (at least at middle management and below) so it wasn’t so much job replacement although that option might still galvanize union busting.
Granted the companies in question are Japanese and Korean developers, so the US side is mostly licensing and marking and such. And if I’m being honest, some of those marketers really should lose their jobs, or at least stop getting paid twice that of actual talented people… sigh.
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Sounds like a massive opportunity to form a lot of new indie studios that isn’t happening. Or people aren’t announcing it.
Reisen@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
it’s not happening because at the same time the willingness of investors to find new studios and games also drastically went down
Atropos@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Can we crowdsource one? I’d throw a few grand into a new studio with the right leadership and governance.
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Investors are not required to form an indie studio. They are not required to build a fun game that makes a lot of money. Indie studios do not require massive injections of cash. Most indie studios are formed on what is available to the team collectively. It isn’t something that is easy, it takes effort, but it is not impossible. Most indie studios are initially formed with like, less than $20k USD in total investment. Many are just one guy with a budget of $0.
It is more likely that the amount of money that an investor would realistically need to give is considered too small to be worth the PR, but too big to just give away in a whim. Enough that one or multiple studio members could easily take out a personal load to invest into the studio without needing a private investor.
Now, if those people are demanding multiple big six+ figure investments, then they aren’t trying to form an indie studio, they’re trying to form a AAA studio that is publisher independant. Which is an unreasonable ask.
Grimy@lemmy.world 1 day ago
One-third is about the cut almost every game store takes.
SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 1 day ago
So, what y’all doing now?
Shadow@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
I was at a gaming studio that closed down in late 2024, most of the people I’ve talked to since have left games and work in general tech.
xyro@morbier.foo 21 hours ago
In the industry as well, future does look grim for the companies
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 1 day ago
Man good thing they’re coming out with so many new games. I’d be worried about the long term health of these big companies if it weren’t for the solid pipes of great new titles rolling out
formergijoe@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
I wonder how close to pre-2020 numbers the industry is currently at. I know several companies increased their employee count due to big game sales during COVID, but once people could leave their houses again sales leveled off and then the layoffs started happening.