In 2023, gaming companies laid off at least 6,000 people, with Unity, Epic Games, and Amazon having the most layoffs

Technical artist Farhan Noor created the website videogamelayoffs.com, where you can analyse how many people were laid off in gaming companies in 2023. More than 80 companies have suffered layoffs, and 11 more studios have closed this year.

Here's What We Know

In total, there were at least 6000 layoffs in the gaming industry. September became the "leader", when 17 companies cut jobs. In a conversation with GamesIndustry.biz, analysts, recruiters, and investors cited the current economic climate as a leading factor, with high interest rates, slower growth, higher production costs, and increased competition being just some of the reasons for the mass layoffs.

Embracer Group has made the most layoffs in its subsidiaries, including Crystal Dynamics, Beamdog, Rainbow Studios, Volition, Gearbox Publishing and Campfire Cabal. Unity employees have suffered the most redundancies in one company, with 900 people having to look for a new place to work. Initially, 600 employees were laid off in January, and almost 300 people were laid off in May. Next are Epic Games and Amazon, which laid off 800 and 500 employees, respectively.

And it is still unknown how many layoffs took place in the gaming divisions of Sony, Microsoft, and Meta. And let's not forget about the layoffs at Telltale, Ubisoft, Naughty Dog, Blizzard, and others, where the total number could be counted for a long time.

Source: gamesindustry

Photo: hulhub