this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
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One-Third of U.S. Video Game Industry Workers Were Laid Off Over the Last Two Years (gdconf.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by Beep@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
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The effects of recent layoffs continue to spread across the industry. Over one in four (28%) survey respondents were laid off in the past two years, increasing to one-third (33%) for those in the United States, and half said their current (or most recent) employer has conducted layoffs in the past 12 months. Those at AAA studios were highly likely to have experienced layoffs at their companies; two-thirds of respondents at AAA studios said their companies had layoffs. One-third of people working at indie studios reported the same.

The smaller survey of students illustrates widespread pessimism among future developers and leaders eager to enter the space. Three-fourths (74%) of surveyed students said they are concerned about their future job prospects in the game industry. Students noted the lack of entry-level jobs, increased competition from laid-off workers with more experience and AI-led displacement.

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I was about to say that I knew that COVID-19 caused video game sales to surge, and then crash, and there was over-hiring that had happened in response to those sales, but a third seems like an insanely high number.

Looking at WP, it sounds like the surge was actually that high...but for mobile OS games and console games, not PC, where the surge was much more muted. I also hadn't realized that mobile OS video game spending had become that much larger than PC spending.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%932025_video_game_industry_layoffs

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in interest in gaming globally, and was a period of dramatic expansion in the industry, with many mergers and acquisitions conducted. In many cases companies over-expanded, as this rapid COVID-era growth was unsustainable. The industry began to slow in 2022, and amid spiralling costs and a shift in consumer habits, layoffs began.

The first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a sharp increase in revenue for the gaming sector worldwide as people looked for indoor entertainment.[56] According to IDC, in 2020, revenue from mobile games climbed by 32.8% to $99.9 billion, while expenditure on digital PC and Mac games increased by 7.4% to $35.6 billion.[57] The amount spent on home console games increased significantly as well, reaching $42.9 billion, up 33.9%.[58][59]

In the ensuing years, this growing pattern abruptly stopped.[60] Revenue growth from mobile gaming fell by 15% in 2021, and then fell even further in 2022 and 2023, to -3.3% and -3.1%, respectively. Sales of PC and Mac games saw a brief rise of 8.7% in 2021, a drop of 1.4% in 2022, and a rebound of 2.1% in 2023.[61] Similarly, after a surge in 2020, console game spending plateaued in 2021 with growth at 0.7%, followed by a decline of 3.4% in 2022, before returning to growth at 5.9% in 2023.[59][62]

EDIT: Based on those numbers, the surge in mobile and console sales combined was basically equivalent in value to the entirety of PC video game sales. It's like the equivalent of the entire PC video gaming industry materialized, existed for a few years, and then disappeared.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yep. PC players tend to be very outspoken, but they’re easily outnumbered by the console market, and the mobile market dwarfs them both.

[–] irate944@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

but they’re easily outnumbered by the console market

I don't think this is the case nowadays. I remember reading an article that PC market was outselling the console market.

But yes, the mobile market is a giant

edit: found it: https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/new-report-says-pc-games-are-outselling-console-games-calling-pc-gaming-a-bright-spot-in-a-troubled-industry/

PC's consumer spending in 2024 was ~$30B, while consoles was $18B (including the Switch)

[–] tal@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The console market is also cyclical. Like, when a new console is released, that's a huge impact that doesn't really have an analog in the PC video gaming world (or the mobile world, for that matter).

It looks like both the Xbox Series X and S and the PS5 came out in North America right around the beginning of that surge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_5

November 12, 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Series_X_and_Series_S

November 10, 2020

[–] titanicx@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

It's going to be interesting to watch the next three years or so give or take and what kind of impact the RAM market and processor market are going to have on PC gaming versus console gaming.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/global-games-market-to-hit-189-billion-in-2025

Closer than I remembered, but console is still larger and projected to grow faster.