According to VGC , January 2024 has not yet ended, but the gaming industry has witnessed a pessimistic reality when the number of laid-off workers has exceeded half of the number of the whole year 2023.
The website Video Games Layoffs, run by tech expert Farhan Noor, has long tracked and updated news about layoffs in the gaming industry. According to the website’s data, an estimated 10,500 gaming industry workers will lose their jobs in 2023.
More than 5,000 game industry workers lost their jobs in January 2024
As of now, the estimated number for 2024 is 3,770. However, after Microsoft announced the layoff of 1,900 employees in the Xbox and Blizzard gaming divisions, that number has skyrocketed to at least 5,670. Worryingly, in January alone, the number of job losses accounted for 54% compared to the entire year of 2023.
Microsoft is just one of several gaming giants to cut jobs. Riot Games announced earlier this month that it would lay off about 530 employees, or 11% of its total workforce. Earlier this month, Unity said it would lay off 25% of its workforce, or 1,800 employees.
A GDC survey found that about a third of game developers said they had either been affected by layoffs or seen colleagues leave the company in the past 12 months.
This alarming situation shows the difficulties that the gaming industry is facing in the current period. Factors such as economic recession, fierce competition and changes in users' gaming habits have greatly affected the revenue and profits of gaming companies.
This wave of layoffs will certainly present challenges for workers in the industry. However, there is hope as some companies are still hiring and expanding. At the same time, the development of new markets such as cloud gaming platforms could also present new opportunities in the future.
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