More Than Half of Laid-Off Video Game Workers Remain Unemployed
The 15th State of the Game Industry Report paints a worsening picture of employment in video games. Among more than 2,600 surveyed professionals, 34% said they had been laid off during the previous 24 months, up from 28% in the prior report. The proportion rose to 39% among U.S.-based respondents, and 68% of those affected said their layoff happened within the past year. Overall unemployment reached 21%, compared with 13% a year earlier, while 54% of laid-off workers remained without a job.
The search for new work has been extensive: 62% of respondents had applied for at least 20 positions, and 25% had applied for 100 or more. Of those who found employment again, 9% left the games industry and 4% started their own companies or studios. Layoffs were reported by nearly half of respondents’ employers in the past year, including 68% of AAA studios, 35% of older indie studios and 14% of younger indie studios.
The report also records changing work practices. Forty percent of respondents use generative AI, up four percentage points year over year, and 57% of those users do so daily. Usage is highest at mobile-only studios, at 70%. PC remains the leading development platform at 81%, while 10% are working on the next PlayStation and 8% on Xbox’s “Project Helix.”
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