With video games like Hellblade 2, Palworld, Starfield, or even the upcoming GTA 6, you might assume that the gaming industry is booming. Sadly, the reality is often disappointing. Every morning, I hear news of another online game company announcing layoffs or closures (RIP Arcane). If you closely follow the online game industry, you are already aware of the dire situation unfolding before us.
But how many jobs have been affected by the video game industry layoffs? Let’s take a quick look before diving into the details:
- Close to 9,000 jobs have been cut in the last five months alone.
- Microsoft Studio sees the largest impact, reducing headcount by around 2,000+ employees.
- Unity, PlayStation Studios, EA, Take-Two, and Riot follow closely after.
- Studios like Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and PS London have been shut down.
Sadly, we have only just begun. Keep reading to discover more about all the video game industry layoffs in 2024.
Table of Contents
Every Video Game Industry Layoff in 2024
| Studio Name | Employees Laid Off |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Xbox (Includes Activision Blizzard, Tango, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, Bethesda) | 2150+ |
| Unity | 1800+ |
| PlayStation Studios | 909 |
| Electronic Arts | 670 |
| Take-Two Interactive | 600 |
| Riot Games | 530 |
| Twitch | 500 |
| Creative Assembly/Sega HARDlight | 240 |
| Lost Boys Interactive | 125 |
| CI Games | 105+ |
| Deviation Games | 100+ |
| Eidos Montreal | 97 |
| SuperMassive Games | 90 |
| Reikon Games | 80+ |
| Thunderful Group | 75+ |
| Sega of America | 61+ |
| Intercept Games | 60 |
| Roll7 | 55+ |
| Behaviour Interactive | 45+ |
| Ubisoft | 45 |
| Smilegate Barcelona | 45+ |
| Hidden Path Entertainment | 44 |
| Black Forest Games | 40+ |
| Kwalee | 40+ |
| Relic Entertainment | 40+ |
| Something Wicked Games | 40 |
| Singularity 6 | 36 |
| People Can Fly Studios | 30 |
| Deck Nine Games | 25+ |
| ZA/UM | 24 |
| Starward Industries | 15 |
| Rovio Montreal | 16 |
| 31st Union | 10+ |
| Curve Games | 5+ |
| Visual Concepts Austin | NA |
| Cloud Imperium Games | NA |
| 505 Games | NA |
| Gearbox | NA |
| Piranha Bytes | NA |
| Square Enix (America, Europe, Collective) | NA |
| Total Layoffs | 8776+ |
Microsoft Xbox
Microsoft’s video game division spent $75.6 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, two of America’s most prestigious video game companies. Mass layoffs occurred across every Xbox wing shortly after, amounting to about 2,150+ job cuts. The reasons for this included the company’s inability to make predicted earnings from its purchased IPs. According to reports, more layoffs are planned at Xbox.
Unity
The software giant, known for its video game engine, has been in hot water for some time. Be it the inflammatory remarks made by its CEO or the Unity Engine install fees, the industry heard the unfortunate news of 1,800 employees being let go earlier this year. It was significantly done as part of a company reset to help clear things out.
PlayStation Studios
PlayStation Studios had to share the bad news of layoffs across the board, including the shutdown of the PS London studio. The Japanese hardware/software giant planned to let go of 909 employees as part of a company restructuring, which was 8% of its workforce.
Electronic Arts
The video game giant known for its yearly EA Sports FC titles and other games had to lay off 670 staff across the department. While there aren’t any concrete details on the reasons, it is primarily attributed to company restructuring.
Take-Two Interactive
While Take-Two Interactive saved Gearbox from closure by purchasing them, the same cannot be said about its employees. As early as last April, news of Take-Two Interactive shutting down Roll7 and Intercept Games was made public. Furthermore, Take-Two Interactive has reported industry-wide layoffs for no apparent reason.
Riot Games
The free-to-play video game giant, known for hit games like Valorant and League of Legends, also saw its fair share of layoffs. These layoffs affected 530 employees, or 11% of its staff, and halted future Riot Forge projects. The reasoning behind the layoff was that the company’s investments needed to pay off to meet expectations. However, they also received much appreciation for their severance plan.
Twitch
Even Amazon’s video streaming giant wasn’t spared. Unfortunately, 500 employees, or around 35% of the company, lost their livelihoods to the company layoff. CEO Dan Clancy argued that while the business remained strong, they overestimated its growth. Interestingly, this was the second round of layoffs at the Streaming giant after the 2023 Amazon-wide layoff, which saw 400 employees lose their jobs.
Sega (Including Creative Assembly, Sega of America, and Sega HARDlight)
Once a Japanese console giant, now a famous video game software company, Sega employees also faced the unfortunate burns of layoffs in 2024. The company saw 61 employees leaving Sega of America, 240 employees leaving Creative Assembly, and an unspecified number of people at Sega HARDlight. SEGA officially attributed these layoffs to the rapidly changing economic landscape, the decline in demand during the COVID-19 era, and inflation.
Lost Boys Interactive
Support studio Lost Boys Interactive, known for working with Gearbox on Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Diablo 4, saw 125 employees lose their jobs to the video game layoffs. The official reasoning was to downsize to keep functioning and tackle “the headwinds facing the industry right now.” They were part of the Embracer layoffs, which have been ongoing since 2023 and mainly happened because the company overspent while betting on an external investor.
CI Games
An AA indie studio responsible for publishing games and developing titles like Sniper Ghost Warrior and Lords of the Fallen, CI Games let go of around 105 employees from the companies over five months. While Lords of the Fallen developer Hexworks is safe, the decision was made to maximize their efficiency. Furthermore, as per CI Games, the May 10 layoff was their company’s last one for a while.
Deviation Games
Unfortunately, Deviation Games, a brand-new studio comprising people from the Call of Duty series, closed its doors on March 9, 2024. The studio had previously partnered with PlayStation to create a brand-new IP for them. Unfortunately, that studio never released its first game before shutting its doors.
Eidos Montreal
The seminal developer, known for creating hits like Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Guardians of the Galaxy, had to lay off 97 employees. This was part of the ongoing Embracer layoffs, which saw multiple studios under Embracer undergo restructuring. The company cited the global economic situation, with Embracer’s restructuring influencing the layoff decision. People from development teams, management, and support services were let go.
SuperMassive Games
While SuperMassive Games announced remastering Until Dawn for PC and PS5, they also had to announce the unfortunate departure of over 90 employees. The layoffs happened due to company-wide reorganizing, and they were entering a consultation period, resulting in people losing jobs.
Reikon Games
The indie developer known for the well-loved twin-stick shooter Ruiner decided to lay off around 80 employees from the company. Around 80% of their workforce was let go. The layoffs have no concrete reason, but it is assumed to be due to the current market restructuring.
Thunderful Group
Thunderful Group, an indie publishing house known for publishing some well-known indie hits, had to lay off around 75 employees. The company had been aiming to improve its competitiveness by reducing costs and refocusing on areas that bring it profits. This layoff led to 20% of its workforce losing jobs.
Intercept Games
The Private Division-owned studio, known for working on the Kerbals Space Program 2 early access, couldn’t see the final game launch. Earlier last month, it was announced that the studio would permanently shut down, leaving the game in oblivion.
Roll7
Unfortunately, the BAFTA-winning video game studio, famous for its remote work culture, was also part of the video game layoffs. As of May 2024, the studio under Private Division ceased to exist. Like Intercept Games, Take-Two didn’t provide concrete reasoning for the shutdown.
Behavior Interactive
The Dead by Daylight developers might be busy building and adding iconic horror villains to the popular asymmetrical horror game, but they were also part of the layoffs. The 45-employee layoff happened due to changing market conditions, impacting less than 3% of their staff.
Ubisoft
While the French publisher and developer are gearing up to release Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it had layoffs, too. It resulted in 45 employees losing their jobs. Ubisoft claimed they were reorganizing their global publishing central and APAC structures.
Smilegate Barcelona
Unfortunately, the Barcelona branch of Smilegate closed its shutters, and around 45 employees lost their livelihoods. Smilegate hasn’t issued any statements regarding the shutdown.
Hidden Path Entertainment
As Hidden Path Entertainment stopped developing the Dungeons & Dragons RPG at the behest of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, it had to lay off 44 employees. This was part of the company’s restructuring and layoffs. They had to shut the studio down to ensure it kept functioning as intended and sustained in the market situation.
Black Forest Games
The developers known for making the Destroy All Humans games had to cut off 50% of their studio power, leading to a layoff of around 40 employees. It was part of the ongoing Embracer layoffs, as Black Forest Games is part of THQ Nordic.
Kwalee
The indie publisher known for publishing some of the top indie games had to lay off around 40 employees across its branches as part of its restructuring efforts.
Relic Entertainment
The famous strategy game company responsible for co-developing Age of Empires 4 and other popular strategy games also laid off employees. Relic Entertainment did so to give itself a chance to survive in the industry. Furthermore, this layoff happened right after Sega severed ties with Relic.
Something Wicked Games
Amidst the development of their debut game, Wyrdsong, Something Wicked Games had to cut most of its workforce. Forty employees lost their jobs. The company hasn’t given any statement regarding the layoff.
Singularity 6
The development studio, known for making the free-to-play survival MMO game Palia, saw its third round of layoffs in nine months. As of May 17, 2024, the company had laid off 36 employees, or about 40% of its workforce. Like other companies, this was part of its restructuring efforts.
People Can Fly Studios
The developers of games like Bulletstorm and looter-shooter Outriders had to lay off 30 employees. The development director, Adam Alker, explained that they had to do this due to budget constraints and a shrinking scope.
Deck Nine Games
The Life is Strange, and Telltale’s Expanse series developers also had to lay off around 25 employees. The studio announcement claims that Deck Nine was affected by worsening market conditions.
ZA/UM
The Disco Elysium developers have always been involved in many controversies. However, amidst all that, they also had to lay off 24 employees. Per the ZA/UM statement, the layoffs happened due to company restructuring, implying that projects were canceled internally. Interestingly, ZA/UM has been embroiled in controversies since the original creators of Disco Elysium were ousted from the company.
Starward Industries
Starward Industries developed The Invincible, which gained some traction as a great science-fiction adaptation. However, the studio wasn’t invincible, succumbing to video game layoffs. It resulted in the studio letting go of 15 employees. The layoffs happened to optimize costs and saw CEO Marek Makuszewski resigning, though staying as a key shareholder in the company.
Rovio Montreal
The mobile gaming giant known for developing the acclaimed Angry Birds franchise saw 16 employees lose their jobs. It ultimately resulted in their Rovio Montreal office shutting down. Rovio Montreal was making an unannounced project, which has since been canceled. Sadly, we have no reason for the layoffs.
Thirty First Union
A studio under Take-Two Interactive, Thirty First Union, saw around ten people losing their jobs to the layoffs. They were let go by 2K Games to focus on better support of the studio and games. No further information was given. Thirty First Union was planning on making games under the 2K Games label, specifically at one point, shortlisted to build a new Mafia game.
Curve Games
Indie game publisher Curve Games saw around five people lose their jobs to the layoffs. The reasoning for the layoffs is unknown.
Visual Concepts
2K Games-owned Visual Concepts, famous for working on the WWE 2K games and NBA 2K games, also had some layoffs. However, the numbers are currently not public.
Cloud Imperium Games
Cloud Imperium Games also experienced employees losing their jobs to layoffs. The company has been making relocation plans, and due to that, layoffs have occurred. No concrete numbers have been announced. The studio is crafting the sci-fi MMO Star Citizen and its single-player counterpart, Squadron 42, progressing gradually through the playable alpha.
505 Games
The renowned publisher known for bringing titles such as Control and Death Stranding, among others, to PC has also suffered from the layoffs. The numbers need to be made public, but they are part of their ongoing efforts to downsize across various countries. The layoffs led to 30% of the employees across Germany, Spain, and France shutting down.
Gearbox
The Randy Pitchford-led development studio and publisher, known for hits like Borderlands and publishing games like Risk of Rain 2, announced their departure from Embracer group earlier this year. However, they got bought by Take-Two Interactive, joining the 2K Games family.
Piranha Bytes
German video game company Piranha Bytes, known for cult hits like Gothic, Risen, and Elex, was released by Embracer Group. However, in a twist of fate, the studio hasn’t yet shut down. Rather, it is still afloat, trying to land a partner for its upcoming projects.
Square Enix (America, Europe, Collective)
Japanese video game developer and publisher Square Enix saw some layoffs across America, Europe, and the indie Collective label in 2024. Though these numbers are not yet public, the layoffs happened after their quarterly reports went live. Employees across publishing, IT, and the Collective studio were affected.
Conclusion
Truthfully, writing this article was one of the hardest things I had to do. While I desperately hope I won’t have to come back and add more layoffs, the current state of the video game industry tells me that we are far from done.
What do you think about the massive number of video game industry layoffs in 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
SOURCE Video Game Layoff tracker
