According to a new State of the Game Industry survey, conducted annually by the GDC, 1 in 4 developers have been laid off over the past two years.
The study surveyed 2,300 games industry professionals from around the world, and 17 percent of respondents reported being laid off in the last 12 months, while 11 percent reported being laid off during the 12 months prior.
I’ve been laid off so many times in the last 5–6 years, had so many turbulent issues working in games. I have trauma and can’t ever fully trust anywhere now — a California-based game designer.
As noted by the GDC, that means one fourth of those surveyed have been laid off in the last two years (one third in the US), and the number of layoffs may even be higher, as some respondents may have been let go several times in the last two years.
Game designers made up the highest percentage of those laid off (20 percent), while those in business operations reported the least (8 percent).
The survey found that of those laid off, 48 percent haven’t found another job yet, and 36 percent who were let go in the years prior are likewise still looking for work.
Game Developers Expect Further Layoffs In 2026
Unfortunately, it has been reported that Ubisoft and Microsoft are looking at further layoffs this year, and that anxiety can be felt among the respondents, as 23 percent anticipate more layoffs throughout 2026, while 30 percent are unsure of what will happen.
Those who work at triple-A studios were more likely to expect further layoffs.
“For the past few years of layoffs, there’s been the promise of an eventual ‘course correction.’ That the post-pandemic layoff surge, which followed COVID-era investment and hiring, would sort itself out,” the GDC report reads. “Some hoped this would be the year. It was not. Not only have layoffs continued to afflict the games industry; they’ve gotten worse.”
With game developers struggling to find work in an industry that continues to shrink year-on-year, unsurprisingly, those looking to break into game development are concerned about their future prospects. 74 percent of surveyed students are worried about finding a position in the games industry, noting the lack of entry-level jobs and increased competition, as well as AI-led displacement.
87 percent of surveyed educators likewise said that they expect layoffs to have a negative impact on student placement, with some arguing that it’s already happening.
As for why all of these layoffs are taking place, the GDC asked respondents to share three reasons that their current or former employees gave, and 43 percent claimed it was due to company restructuring, 38 percent due to budget cuts and market conditions, and 32 percent for project cancellation. However, “a lot of responsibility was placed on mismanagement and greed, unrealistic expectations, US-based tariffs,” as well as “the adoption of AI tools.”
Former Ubisoft Employee Claims “DEI Only Improved Things” As Conspiracies Spread About Why The Company Is Struggling
They argue that if Ubisoft blames DEI, “it’d be over for them.”
