Mass Layoffs Are Causing Big Problems in the Video Games Industry

As games like Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake II, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Spider-Man 2, and so many more marked 2023 as a year of instant hits and commercial success, developers were suffering. Layoffs rolled across the industry worldwide, knocking out a reported 6,500 jobs from studios like Amazon Games, Ubisoft, Epic Games, and Niantic. Roughly one-third of developers were affected either directly or indirectly by job losses in 2023, according to new data released today by organizers of the Game Developers Conference, and the industry impacts will be felt for months to come. Each year, GDC polls attendees about issues facing the industry, from layoffs to generative AI to diversity efforts. For the current survey, they polled 3,000 developers from game studios large and small.