We asked experts to weigh in on what is already a volatile year
Here's why there have been so many layoffs in video games
The video game industry has never been known for its job security. Game development works in cycles, and when games are released and projects end, people are often laid off. When the next project starts, the hiring starts again just for another potential tightening down the line. It was difficult for video game developers to feel comfortable in their positions before the recent period of unprecedented instability. But in recent years it has become a downright crisis.
After an industry boom during the covid-19 pandemic, as video games grew in popularity amid lockdown restrictions that kept people at home, cracks began to appear in 2022 – and it's only gotten worse from there. About 8,500 workers in the video game industry were laid off in 2022, according to a layoff tracker created by video game artist Farhan Noor. That number increased to 10,500 in 2023. Layoffs in 2024 surpass those numbers, with more than 6,000 people laid off from their jobs in the video game industry just 90 days into the year.
Affected studios range from small, independent shops to massive gaming giants. Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees from its games division and game engine maker Unity cut 1,800 cuts, while League of Legends developer Riot Games and Amazon-owned Twitch laid off hundreds each. Airship Syndicate, a smaller studio developing Wayfinder, laid off 12 people; Outriders developer People Can Fly laid off more than 30; and Embracer Group-owned Lost Boys Interactive laid off 125 people, among the dozens of other studios that laid off staff. (Embracer itself laid off at least 1,400 people this year.) The reasons vary among companies, but industry executives seem to agree that this is either a squeeze after overexpansion during the pandemic or a response to an economic downturn. Other executives talked about spending more than their companies earned, or halting video game revenue.
