The game industry job market has taken a hit, with one in ten developers losing their jobs in the past year, according to the recently released 2025 State of the Game Industry report. The survey, which polled over 3,000 developers, found that nearly 60% are concerned about future layoffs in their companies.
The main reasons for company reductions include restructuring (22%), declining revenue (18%), and market shifts/industry trends (15%). Pandemic-related issues, greed, and over-hiring have also been cited as factors. However, “no reason given” was the most common answer, affecting 19% of participants.
Departments most affected by layoffs include narrative, production and team management, visual arts, programming/engineering, game design, and business and finance. The industry’s tendency to set unrealistic goals and then firing employees who can’t meet them has been criticized, with some calling for a shift towards lean and agile processes.
The 2025 report also shows that concern about future layoffs is on the rise, with nearly 60% of respondents worried about it. This represents an increase from last year’s 35%. The full report is available on the Game Developers Conference website.
Source: https://80.lv/articles/one-in-ten-developers-lost-their-jobs-in-2024-according-to-gdc-report