The British actors' union Equity has declared its full solidarity with the American actors' guild SAG-AFTRA, which has gone on strike against gaming companies. In the United Kingdom, there is also some dissatisfaction with the terms of cooperation with developers
Additional speakers have been announced for the upcoming GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit in September. This event will focus on the skills crisis and fostering young talent within the industry. Scheduled for September 18 at the Royal Institution in London, tickets can be secured here. Gina Jackson, founder of Skillfull, will present an update on her findings regarding the Skills Crisis. Concurrently, Phil Atkinson from NextGen Skills will lead a breakout session on the potential benefits of apprenticeships
Over 500 members of the team working on World of Warcraft have voted to create a union. It has been named the World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild
Chinese company Lilith Games, which developed Rise of Kingdoms and AFK Arena, is showing extraordinary generosity. In an interview with PocketGamer, Vincent Ou, head of strategy and investment at Lilith Games, revealed that the company has implemented what they call the "Aladdin Plan," under which they regularly share profits with their employees
Nintendo has annulled the victory of the team that emerged victorious in the Splatoon 3 World Championship earlier this year due to allegations of misconduct involving several players. Jackpot secured the title in the official Nintendo competition in April, but an announcement on the Nintendo VS X account yesterday stated their triumph will now be "considered vacated," and the team will not be awarded trophies from the event. "It has come to our attention that certain members of team Jackpot... acted in a manner that is not in line with our community guidelines while playing the Splatoon 3 game," the statement read.
Humble Games, a publishing arm of Humble Bundle, has been hit with mass layoffs. The company went on to deny reports of its full closure, calling the process a “restructuring of operations.”
HR consultancy Brightmine will provide analysis on workforce management strategies amid the current economic situation at the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit this September. Sheila Attwood, Senior Content Manager for Data and Insights, will present best practices for sustaining team morale during these challenging times. The gaming industry is currently undergoing a significant downturn, with extensive layoffs, after experiencing considerable growth from 2020 to 2022. Attwood, with close to three decades of experience in research and editorial work, oversees a team responsible for Brightmine's data and market insights content, including employer practice surveys, webinars, podcasts, and remuneration information. She frequently discusses salary trends in the media
UK gaming firms have until the month's end to participate in this year's salary benchmarking initiative, a joint effort between GamesIndustry.biz and Brightmine. Formerly known as XpertHR, Brightmine is a well-regarded benchmarking service utilized by various industries. Last year, it debuted a pilot program with GamesIndustry.biz, offering valuable insights into industry pay scales. This initiative aims to guide companies in equitable compensation and talent retention. Detailed information on pay disparities can be found here. The 2024 program is currently active, with all data kept confidential and anonymized to ensure anonymity for participating companies and individuals
This September, GamesIndustry.biz is set to host its second HR Summit in London, bringing together 300 UK HR experts and studio leaders. Scheduled for September 18, the event will be held at the illustrious Royal Institution and will address major HR challenges, including reward systems, diversity, leadership, change management, AI, and mental health, among others. The summit will conclude with the seventh edition of the Best Places To Work Awards. This year, partners can reserve spaces for hosting roundtables, demos, and meetings, or choose to sponsor some of the event’s special awards. For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out to George.Corner@gamesindustry.biz
Valve is still a private company, so most information about its operations and finances remains undisclosed. But thanks to new court documents, we can now get a glimpse of some of the internal data.
Pierre Escaich of Ubisoft is set to join the upcoming GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit in London this September. As the Neurodiversity Talent Program Director for the publisher, Escaich will lead a discussion entitled: "Neurodiversity in the Game Industry: Unlocking Hidden Talents." The event is scheduled for September 18 at The Royal Institution in London, and tickets are currently available.
Surgent Studios has acknowledged that it is among the increasing number of game studios experiencing layoffs this year, affecting "just over a dozen people." In an announcement via X, the company confirmed: "Unfortunately, Surgent has joined the growing number of games studios impacted by layoffs this year with just over a dozen people affected"
Daybreak Game Company, a subsidiary of Swedish holding company EG7, has announced a new M&A deal. The publisher has purchased indie studio Singularity 6, known for its online life sim Palia.
An employment tribunal in the UK has directed Cloud Imperium Games to compensate a former employee with £27,748 regarding a discrimination claim related to its return-to-office policy. According to Game Developer, senior programmer Paul Ah-Thion was terminated in 2022 after his requests for permanent remote work accommodations for his disability were rejected. Ah-Thion had previously worked on-site at the company's former Wilmslow office before Cloud Imperium transitioned employees to remote work during the pandemic. In 2021, Cloud Imperium opened a new office in Manchester, now serving as its UK headquarters, and instituted a return-to-office mandate for its staff
Contrary to popular belief, layoffs are not a foregone conclusion. Jesse Schell, an experienced designer and author who has maintained his team intact since founding Schell Games in 2002, argues that the gaming sector’s habitual hiring and firing cycles foster distrust and anxiety while undermining team cohesion in the long run. In our new GI Sprint series of videos, podcasts, and articles focused on creating games more efficiently and cost-effectively, Schell reveals his methods for establishing and preserving a sustainable business in these highly uncertain times
According to data from the portal Game Industry Layoffs, the scale of layoffs in the gaming industry is gradually decreasing. According to its calculations, gaming companies laid off a total of 632 employees in June
On June 14th, employees of Tango Gameworks gathered for a pizza party, marking the studio's closing day. This event followed Microsoft's unexpected decision to shut down Tango Gameworks, the creators of Ghostwire Tokyo and the award-winning Hi-Fi Rush. This decision came as a shock to many in the gaming industry. Notably, just weeks before the closure, Hi-Fi Rush had been released on multiple platforms beyond Xbox under a new company strategy aimed at expanding its reach. As Microsoft's sole Japanese studio, positioned in a key growth market for Xbox and Game Pass after years of limited success in Japan, the move seemed paradoxical.
The gaming industry has witnessed a wave of layoffs and studio closures since last year, with 2024 already seeing over 10,000 developers lose their jobs, matching the total from 2023. However, an ironic silver lining can be found nearby Tango Gameworks' shuttered office. Despite the tragic end for Tango, Japan remains relatively sheltered from the widespread industry layoffs affecting other parts of the world
During the pandemic, studios rapidly transitioned to remote operations. This approach appears to have become permanent, as numerous studios now prefer fully remote work over returning to traditional office settings. Among the developers embracing this model are Bossa Studios and FuturLab, both headquartered in the UK while their staff work remotely from various locations globally. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz for GI Sprint, Bossa co-founder and CEO Henrique Olifiers, alongside FuturLab head of production Toby Adam-Smith, explored the advantages of remote work and how teams can foster a creative and collaborative atmosphere online rather than in an office
Gameloft continues to downsize. A month after announcing plans to close its office in Cluj-Napoca, it has let go of a "significant portion" of the staff from its Toronto office
The gaming industry is seeing more and more unions. This time, developers from Bethesda Game Studios Montreal have announced their intention to form a labor union
Chinese enterprise Perfect World has allegedly dismissed thousands of workers. Game Developer, translating a report from The Paper, indicated that these significant job reductions have taken place in the company's Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu offices. Most departments were affected by these layoffs, with the exception of the esports division
The Chinese company Perfect World has conducted large-scale layoffs. According to the newspaper The Paper, it has cut several hundred people in the face of financial problems — its net profit fell by 64.31% at the end of 2023
The Early Bird registration period for this year's GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit will close on Friday. This year's event, addressing key challenges for HR professionals, is making a return for its second installment at the esteemed Royal Institution in London. Scheduled for September 18, the summit will span the entire day, culminating in the 2024 Best Places To Work Awards. Early Bird tickets are currently available for £130 plus fees
The Canadian indie studio Cut to Bits has parted ways with most of its employees. This was announced on social media by its co-founder and general manager Masao Kobayashi, who was also among those laid off
The Polish company Techland has laid off part of its staff. This was reported by the portal GRY Online, which noted posts by the laid-off employees on social media.
Since the beginning of the year, gaming companies have laid off more than 10,000 employees. FromSoftware is one of the studios that has avoided these cuts. In an interview with PC Gamer, its president Hidetaka Miyazaki mentioned that he would never wish for his subordinates to face mass layoffs.
Employees of the Polish studio Ironbird Creations, which is developing the slasher Phantom Hellcat, have not been receiving their salaries since December 2023. This information was reported by the publication CD-Action, which spoke with both former and current employees of the studio.
A wave of layoffs has reached Archiact Interactive, the VR studio responsible for games such as Journey to Foundation and FREEDIVER: Triton Down, and which also participated in the development of DOOM 3: VR Edition.
The British company Sumo Group, whose portfolio includes Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Team Sonic Racing, and many other games, is preparing to carry out significant layoffs. The company announced plans to dismiss up to 15% of its employees in Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Czech Republic, and India.
Lionbridge Technologies is an American company that assists with content localization and software testing. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) stated that the company recently unlawfully terminated its entire team in Boise after local employees decided to unionize.
The Japanese company Gumi, specializing in mobile games and known in the West for Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, plans to lay off 80 employees. The company has decided to downsize amid increasing losses.
New companies continue to emerge in the gaming industry. Developers Megan Ralph and Joel Herber have announced the launch of their own studio.
The indie studio Believer Entertainment has decided to share its tool, Friendshipper, with other developers. They have published the project’s source code as open source.
Canadian company Behaviour Interactive has announced layoffs. It will part ways with 95 specialists as part of "strategic changes in the structure."
Avalanche Studios Group announced the closure of two out of its five internal studios. It has shut down its branches in New York and Montreal.
The labor market climate in the games industry is wild. Last month, companies around the world laid off at least 773 employees, with the total number of job cuts this year nearly equaling all of 2023.
UK gaming firms are encouraged to participate in the current year's salary benchmarking initiative—a joint effort between GamesIndustry.biz and Brightmine. Brightmine, formerly known as XpertHR, is a renowned benchmarking service widely used in multiple sectors. Last year, it initiated a pilot scheme with GamesIndustry.biz, offering insights into industry pay standards. The project's aim is to ensure fair employee compensation and enhance talent retention. The 2024 initiative is now open and will continue until the end of July. All submitted data will remain confidential and anonymized, ensuring the privacy of both companies and individuals involved
Microsoft Corporation signed a labor neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA, a union representing U.S. communications workers) concerning the employees of ZeniMax Media. The company pledged to support unions within the subsidiary.
Senior Design Manager at Intercept Games, Quinn Duffy, wrote on LinkedIn that the entire staff of the studio will indeed be laid off. According to him, this will happen on June 28.
Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and former chief design officer Allen Adham has opened up about the studio’s early days, also sharing his design principles and how to scale game development teams.
Singularity 6 conducted a new round of layoffs. The studio has now parted ways with 36 employees.
The authors of Dauntless are making cuts again. The exact number of those fired is unknown, but we may be talking about more than 100 employees.
Ubisoft has published its financial report for FY24 ended March 31, 2024. The French company posted strong revenue and profit growth, while continuing its cost-cutting program.
Ubisoft has released a report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. Below is the main part of the document.
The publisher of Private Division, specializing in low- and medium-budget games, has parted with a significant number of employees. This is reported by GamesIndustry with reference to its own sources.
In February, Sony announced plans to lay off 900 employees of the gaming division. Alex Barnes, the game director from the British studio Firesprite, wrote on social networks that he was among the dismissed specialists.
Last month, the gaming industry continued to be stormed. According to the Game Industry Layoffs portal, in April, gaming companies fired or announced the dismissal of at least 1003 people.
Job search ads from Belka Games employees began appearing en masse on LinkedIn yesterday. Judging by them, the cuts primarily affected line specialists.
The Swedish company Paradox Interactive has released a financial report for the first quarter of 2024, which ended on March 31. We have chosen the main thing.
The hard times in the gaming industry continue. Flaming Fowl Studios, founded by Lionhead Studios veterans, has reported financial problems.
