In the early weeks of 2024, the games industry has witnessed a significant surge in job losses, with over 5,000 workers already facing unemployment.
This alarming figure surpasses the total number of job cuts throughout the entire year of 2023, marking a distressing trend for the sector.
The tracking website, Video Games Layoffs, maintained by technical artist Farhan Noor, has diligently documented confirmed job cuts in the games industry since the beginning of the previous year. The site reported that an estimated 10,500 game industry professionals lost their jobs in 2023. As of the current assessment for 2024, the website records approximately 3,770 job losses. However, the recent announcement of Microsoft laying off 1,900 staff members from its video game division is poised to elevate this number to at least 5,670 in the upcoming update.
This development implies that, as of January 25, the total job losses in 2024 have already reached a staggering 54% of the total layoffs observed in the preceding year. Microsoft's decision to cut around 8% of its gaming division, affecting approximately 1,900 out of its 22,000 employees, contributes significantly to this disconcerting statistic. Additionally, Riot Games disclosed a reduction of around 530 staff members, constituting roughly 11% of its workforce, while earlier this month, Unity unveiled plans to lay off 25% of its employees, totaling 1,800 individuals. These collective actions underscore the challenging landscape faced by the games industry workforce in 2024.
