The End of Videogames as we know it? Gaming Layoffs in the Gaming Industry will change everything.
7Gaming in 2023 and 2024 is not showing out as the profession you would like to be in. Almost 17,000 gaming jobs lost between managers, creatives and devs. We talk about how that will change games forever. We also talk about Toys for Bob going independant and the disaster that is the Embracer group
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Timecodes
0:00 Gaming Industry Layoffs
00:48 Why are we having so many gaming layoffs?
13:30 What is Embracer's Strategy?
16:05 Toys for Boy Going Independent
PCGamer Source:
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-impact-of-16000-games-industry-layoffs-in-one-chart/
Our own estimated total for 2023's layoffs was 11,250 people (the Obsidian tracker posits at least 10,500), while in 2024 we had already reached nearly 6,000 layoffs (5,900 on the public list) by the end of January. More layoffs have been reported in the early days of February, including an unknown number at Visual Concepts Austin, which Take-Two acquired in 2021.
As many observers have pointed out, the industry is already halfway to 2023's total layoffs just one month into 2024. 2023 was higher than 2022's estimated 8,500 total layoffs, and the wider tech downturn that these games layoffs spun off from was already underway by the end of that year.
Game Industry Layoffs:
https://publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2023
EA Layoffs:
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-cutting-5-of-workforce
Electronic Arts today announced that it is laying off approximately 5% of its employees as it leans in on the parts of the business it feels will be the most successful in the years to come.
In its most recent annual report, the publisher gave its headcount as 13,400 as of the end of March 2023, which would put the job losses around 670 people.
The cuts are just one part of the company's restructuring plan, which also includes closing some offices and sunsetting certain live games, like the previously announced shut down of MLB Tap Sports and F1 Mobile Racing.
In a note to staff, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the company is also "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry."
GamesIndustry.biz understands that one such title was cancelled as part of this plan, with the teams working on it redeployed to other projects.
Sony Layoffs: https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/27/24084494/sony-playstation-layoffs-2024
Sony says it’s laying off around 900 employees of its PlayStation division, a reduction of its global headcount of around 8 percent. Sony’s layoffs will impact a variety of its PlayStation studios, including Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, and Firesprite. Sony’s layoffs are the latest in a wave that has been impacting the gaming and tech industries throughout 2024.
“We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8 percent or about 900 people, subject to local law and consultation processes,” says PlayStation chief Jim Ryan. “Employees across the globe, including our studios, are impacted.”
Embracer:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-29/embracer-group-to-sell-saber-subsidiary-in-500-million-deal?embedded-checkout=true
Swedish gaming company Embracer Group AB will sell one of its largest subsidiaries, Saber Interactive, to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
Toys for Bob:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/crash-bandicoot-4-studio-toys-for-bob-split-from-activision-and-microsoft-to-go-independent
As the video games industry violently contracts to ensure shareholder satisfaction at the cost of making thousands upon thousands of people unemployed, Skylanders studio Toys For Bob have announced they're splitting from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft to go independent. Good for them, but maybe too late for some. Earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that it seemed Activision Blizzard were closing Toys For Bob's California headquarters and laying off 86 people. Still, the new independent Toys For Bob say they're working on something new and "exploring a possible partnership" with Microsoft.
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