Some 35% of game development studios have been affected by layoffs in the past year, and more than half are concerned about future cuts at their place of employment. That's according to the annual report commissioned by the Game Developers Conference (GDC), organisers of the world's largest industry professional event.
The report highlights what is plain to see. Thousands of jobs have been lost, and more go every day as companies reckon with ridiculous calls made during what was a digital boom-time for the industry, when the COVID-19 pandemic held audiences captive, beginning in March of 2020. Quality assurance testers appear to have been the role hit hardest, with 22% of them saying they were laid off this year (compared to 7% of all developers). Business and finance roles reported the slightest losses, at 2%.
Regarding ongoing unionisation efforts, 5% of developers say they're currently part of a union, and 57% think that game industry workers should unionise, up from 53% last year. In terms of demographics, the majority of developers surveyed identify as men (69%), of white/Caucasian origin (65%) and as Millenials aged 25-34 years old (35%).
The report also points to the issues concerning AI we've been covering in recent months, like the growing legitimisation of generative AI in the development of video games and the resulting uncertainty that follows its use. Almost half of those surveyed (49%) said they are either currently using or know colleagues using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, GitHub Copilot, and Adobe Generative Fill. Paradoxically, 84% of respondents said they were either Very Concerned or Somewhat Concerned about the ethics of using these generative AI tools during development.
That all-blockchain future we used to hear about is looking increasingly unlikely, with a hilarious 77% of respondents reporting their studios or companies were Not Interested in technology like cryptocurrency, NFTs, or Web3. Personal preference may differ, but we'll chalk that last one up as a win.
What do you make of this small snapshot of the industry and the thoughts and fears of the developers who make the games we enjoy? Report your feelings and any necessary background data in the comments section below.
[source gdconf.com, via gamedeveloper.com]
Comments 20
There have already been 2.5k layoffs this year, and we’re only halfway through January. This year is 100% gonna be worse than last year in terms of layoffs.
I have a 16yo son looking at Uni game dev courses for when he leaves school and I can't help but worry I'm letting him head down a path of uncertain employment. Hopefully by the time he hits the market in five years' time the industry has worked out how to fix some of this; but it's obviously hard with the ramp up resource/release product/ramp down cycle that is part and parcel of game dev, particularly in the AAA space.
thats just the way it is. dev teams are more like freelancers than employees
Removed - inappropriate language; user is banned
I blame subscription services and the surge of live service games for this, and predict it will only get worse from here on. Indies will get hit the worse and feel pressured into thinking they have no choice but to go into a subscription service whilst AA/AAA developers will let go off more staff and rely on AI a lot more, games will get done quicker but won't be at the same quality as before.
My concern for indies is that the more popular subscription services become the more bigger games go into them, meaning less spotlight on the indies. Also people will become too reliant on subscriptions for their games and will buy less and less games or none at all, we already see it with gamepass with people not interested in buying games day one with the hope it comes to the service at some point. Gaming won't be the same going forward and if anything is going downhill and all is left to kill it off now is the inevitable digital and cloud only.
@Marquez depending on your country, I would suggest gaming is low paid and a cutthroat industry where game developers are 10 a penny. I would also suggest your son considers working for a big defence space corporate. While that's a lot less glamorous than gaming, it can be well paid and consistent work. However it does have a real world and tangible side to it, which sometimes can be very rewarding. Recommend that route rather than gaming, unless you "know" people in the industry it's a bit too closed off for us meer mortals to obtain real money.
Well this was to be expected since the industry has been bubbling for quite some years.
Plus the fact that humans aren’t really needed to work on computers anymore. AI is a lot cheaper and doesn’t need to eat or sleep
@Marquez I'd say it's worth it more than anything else because you can eventually make your own games or apps and become independent. I bet 1/4 of the indie games that release on Steam are one man projects.
Game development and most things related to tech are so stupidly over saturated. Anyone trying to enter needs to either be extremely skilled, start off an indie studio or just go into freelance work. Too many people have access to computers (not a bad thing)
This is why so many are unionising
@Marquez I doubt the gaming industry is ever going to really sort it self out. I remember being 15 years old, 12 years ago, looking at game dev courses… and the same thing was happening. Luckily I talked my self out of game development.
I agree with you regarding the loss of jobs following the surge in Live Service games, @UltimateOtaku91, but for many smaller developers the subscription services are often seen as a lifeline/safety-net. Many such companies see the guaranteed payment that they get for entering a subscription service as exceptionally helpful when entering an uncertain market where sales are open to many variables. Also, many developers have cited the exposure subscription services give their companies, and past games, as very helpful. And it is not uncommon to see small studios (and even big ones) return to a subscription service more than once.
Many, many games go overlooked when they release to the wider market, and the Developers flounder as a consequence. That is nothing new, and will continue ad infinitum. Just as many independent developers will flourish without subscription services. Independent developers know what is best for them, and will decide accordingly whether to enter a subscription service.
Lastly, if you look at all the layoffs in 2023, the vast, vast majority were from Studios that had either released a Live Service game, or were in the process of developing one. Independent studios open and close all the time, and have done since the start of gaming, long before the introduction of subscription services. It's the pursuit of the mythical cash-cow that is the Live Service game that has seen the industry suffer more than anything...
@Fiendish-Beaver lol , live service is the devil to the pushsquare community i swear .
is live service the reason making video games takes so long now with so much money involved too?
You are completely wrong, @nomither6! It is well known among the PlayStation community that Phil Spencer is the Devil incarnate and that Microsoft/Xbox is the Hell that he inhabits. 😉
When it comes to Live Service, I'm only looking at all the reports we've had recently regarding layoffs. All of the reports have come from studios that are, or were, involved in the development of Live Service games. That's not me passing judgement on the games, or the concept, that's me just repeating what is being reported.
As for the length of time it takes to develop games these days, it is the size and complexity of the games, together with switching to the new Unreal Engine 5 (in most cases) that are causing these extended development times. Games are now taking up to 7 years to develop as a consequence. I think we, as gamers, have certain expectations of what can be achieved these days, and as a consequence, games simply take longer to make in order to meet those expectations...
Tis' a great concern for the gaming industry as a whole!
@Fiendish-Beaver hahaha, fair points
@Terra_Custodes Thanks, good words and I’ll pass them on.
This is damning: “Quality assurance testers appear to have been the role hit hardest, with 22% of them saying they were laid off this year… Business and finance roles reported the slightest losses, at 2%.”
Ouch. Prepare for more buggy game releases going forward. Apparently QA is the most dispensable part of development. That’s what we have paying customers for.
And of course, don’t touch the business and finance guys. The very ones who have misread the market, overspent, and miscalculated the balance sheets. When they make mistakes they’re like Teflon.
Sheesh… reminds me of how Congress votes to give themselves raises and more benefits, despite them being the very people who have driven the country into shambles.
Isn’t the layoff trend something that happens around this point in every video game system’s generation? It’s over 3 years into this console generation and a developer’s first (or second) wave of video game releases has passed.
Based on game sales and profits from the first game or two, the developers and the companies they work with have to decide whether to move ahead with their next big planned game(s) as-is, scale down or increase the budget, or cancel the next game all together.
With so many games flooding the market (at least 660 for PS5 so far), a video game company has got to have one heck of a good game…or a great marketing campaign…to make a profit these days. It’s a rough, tough business. And it really sucks that so many talented people are losing their jobs. Still, the cream will rise to the top. I’m hopeful the really talented folks who’ve been laid off will find their way onto—and up!—the next ladder they climb.
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