HR / Company news

The Chinese mobile development studio Lilith Games has laid off several dozen employees, according to the portal GameLook.

The Swedish holding company Thunderful Group announced its second restructuring this year. The previous one took place at the beginning of 2024 and resulted in the layoff of 20% of the staff.

Payload Studios has confirmed that it let go of several more employees last week. The exact number of layoffs is unknown.

WN Academy and WN Talents announced the online event "One Step Ahead: HR Strategies for 2025." This conference aims to shed light on the situation in the gaming job market and address the challenges companies face in the HR sector.

Tencent confirmed to PocketGamer that it has carried out layoffs at the London office of the studio Sharkmob. The exact number of employees affected has not been disclosed

Overview:

Game companies have been cutting costs this entire year, and October was no exception. Even the most conservative estimates show that there were over 400 layoffs last month.

According to the recent Big Games Industry Employment Survey, about 15% of workers in Europe's gaming sector who were let go in 2023/2024 have since secured new employment, while 6.2% remain unemployed and continue to look for work.

In the gaming sector, Netflix is once again shifting its priorities: the company is now focusing on developing games using generative AI. The creation of a new division, GenAI for Games, was announced by its vice president, Mike Verdu, who previously led Netflix Games.

In its gaming division, Netflix is once again shifting priorities: the company will now focus on developing games using generative AI. The creation of the new GenAI for Games unit was announced by its vice president, Mike Verdu, who previously led Netflix Games

The Communications Workers of America (CWA, the union for communications workers in the U.S.) criticized Sony for closing Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi, accusing it of attempting to strengthen its monopolistic position in the market

Ubisoft reported its results for the first half of 2025 (ending September 30). Below are the key financial indicators of the company

ProbablyMonsters has reduced its workforce by approximately 50 employees

GameSpot, a media outlet owned by Fandom, has initiated a new series of layoffs today

As of November 5, 2024, sources familiar with the situation informed GamesIndustry.biz that Inflexion has carried out layoffs affecting more than 50 individuals. The company was required to notify the Canadian government about this round of redundancies. It is reported that approximately 58 employees remain, excluding support staff. The layoffs have touched most departments within the studio, including QA, concept art, and narrative, with certain teams purportedly facing complete elimination.

Fingersoft, the mobile development company based in Finland, has reduced its workforce by 14 employees.

Tencent has refuted reports of mass layoffs that were rumored to affect hundreds of employees in its video game division. Instead, the Chinese tech giant shared information about changes in its leadership.

Following a series of rumors about layoffs and reorganization at Tencent's subsidiaries, TiMi Studio Group and LightSpeed Studios, the corporation officially stated that this information is false

Tencent has dismissed speculation regarding layoffs and restructuring; however, the company has acknowledged that there have been several significant leadership changes.

AppLovin and its subsidiary Machine Zone (known for Game of War and Mobile Strike) have conducted a series of layoffs

NCSOFT, known for Throne and Liberty and Lineage, has announced significant internal changes, including a reduction in staff.

Netflix has reportedly closed its in-house studio focused on AAA games. The team, made up of industry veterans, has been disbanded after two years.

The team will focus on creating multiplayer games or, as the founders put it, "games worth sharing"

The union representing employees at Don't Nod in France is urging workers to go on strike due to a "reorganisation" plan that threatens up to 69 positions.

More than 700 employees of Ubisoft France have initiated a three-day strike, protesting issues related to remote work and salary concerns

The French company DON’T NOD is not doing well. In light of declining financial performance, it has announced further business restructuring. This will lead to layoffs

A month ago, Ubisoft required employees to work from the office at least three days a week. Many people strongly disliked this requirement

Riot Games is conducting a new round of layoffs, the second one this year. During this, the League of Legends team will lose 27 employees, while the publishing division will see five employees let go.

Bandai Namco Entertainment has joined the long list of gaming companies that are laying off employees on a large scale, according to Bloomberg sources. Due to the specifics of Japanese law, it has allegedly resorted to a particular practice

The developer NaturalMotion, which is part of Zynga, is preparing to conduct layoffs in its offices in the US and the UK

Cryptic Studios, a subsidiary of the Swedish holding company Embracer Group, intends to lay off more staff. This is reported by the Game Developer portal, citing posts from studio employees on LinkedIn

Cryptic Studios has announced a new round of layoffs, affecting an unspecified number of positions

Talewind has announced "a period of restructure" during which "a significant number of" its employees will be affected.

FromSoftware studio announced that its employees will receive a salary increase. The company will start paying more from April 2025

FromSoftware has announced its plans to raise salaries for its employees next year. This is part of the studio’s policy of creating a “rewarding work environment.”

FromSoftware has revealed that beginning in April 2025, its employees will see an average basic salary increase of about 11.8%

Antstream Arcade, a company specializing in streaming classic video games, is the most recent firm to experience layoffs.

Sharkmob's London studio is experiencing layoffs following the cancellation of one of its games in development, leading to an uncertain number of jobs being at risk

Airship Syndicate has joined the long list of gaming companies that have conducted layoffs, parting ways with 16 employees

Skybox Labs, a development company based in Canada, has reduced its workforce by letting go of 25 employees.

According to Kotaku, Ryan Ellis, the game director of Concord, has apparently resigned from his role at Firewalk Studios.

The British company nDreams, specializing in virtual reality games, has decided to undergo restructuring. As part of this, up to 17.5% of the staff will be laid off. Some executives will also be affected by the cuts

On September 12, it became known that Microsoft's gaming division is preparing to lay off 650 people. According to journalist Stephen Totilo from Game File, among those affected will be employees working on mobile games Warcraft Rumble and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.

All 25 employees of indie game publisher Annapurna Interactive have left voluntarily, reports Bloomberg. They departed following unsuccessful negotiations with the management of the parent company.

Microsoft has revealed additional layoffs impacting 650 workers within its gaming division. According to a report by IGN, Xbox leader Phil Spencer communicated to employees through a memo that these job cuts will mainly impact the corporate and support divisions. Spencer reassured staff that "no games, devices, or experiences" are being halted and no studios are being shut down. He attributed Microsoft's decision to the efforts of "aligning [its] post-acquisition team structure" and "organizing [its] business for long-term success"

The head of Microsoft's gaming division, Phil Spencer, announced new significant layoffs. This time, the corporation will part ways with 650 specialists

We continue to publish chapter by chapter the results of the salary survey we conducted from April to May 2023. The current publication focuses on the income levels of Russian-speaking HR professionals in the gaming industry

Midnight Society, a game development studio, has announced the layoff of a "significant" portion of its workforce. According to a report by PC Gamer, the company cited "multiple unexpected challenges in recent months" as the reason for these job cuts. Despite the layoffs, the studio confirmed that it will continue the development of its upcoming game, Deadrop, which is scheduled for release in 2025

Layoffs at the subsidiary studios of the Swedish holding company Embracer Group have not ended. New significant reductions have taken place at Lost Boys Interactive

The investment fund AJ Investments, which holds a minority stake in Ubisoft, has published an open letter to the leaders of the French company and its other shareholders. It expressed "deep dissatisfaction with the current operations and strategic direction" of Ubisoft