Game Industry Job Losses: Over 6,000 Positions Have Already Been Cut in 2023

The game industry has faced a challenging year in 2023, as established studios like Puny Human, Volition, and PixelOpus have been forced to shut down. Adding to the gloom, last month saw the unfortunate announcements from Naughty Dog and Epic Games of upcoming layoffs within their respective companies.

Over the past months, the gaming industry has been plagued by recurrent studio closures and layoffs. According to Farhan Noor, a Technical Artist at Riot Games who launched a website for tracking layoff data, the estimated number of employees who have lost their jobs stands at approximately 6,261. It is important to note that the actual figure may be even higher, as some companies have not disclosed complete details regarding the extent of their staff reductions.

According to the data, in 2023, Unity witnessed the highest number of layoffs in the gaming industry, with 900 employees being let go. Epic Games followed closely behind in second place with 830 individuals affected. Amazon secured the third spot, with over 500 specialists being impacted by layoffs.

Throughout 2023, layoffs have occurred in more than 80 companies, including renowned names like Telltale Games, Naughty Dog, Blizzard Entertainment, BioWare, Ubisoft, Bungie, Riot Games, and Bethesda Game Studios.

September witnessed the highest number of layoffs in the gaming industry in 2023, with 17 companies announcing workforce reductions.

Furthermore, in 2023, substantial layoffs were observed at Microsoft, Meta, and Disney, impacting a significant number of individuals. However, the precise count of gaming industry employees affected by these layoffs remains undisclosed.

Earlier, we reported on the reasons and outcomes of the layoffs in the gaming industry. If you want to learn more, you can read our latest article. For more information about the layoff data click here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.