- Over 8,000 game developers globally lose jobs in four months
- UK gaming industry expands amid massive job losses
- Despite growth, industry faces pandemic, publishing delays, living costs
Globally, including in the United Kingdom, over 8,000 video game developers have lost employment in the past four months. What happens when the gaming industry in the United Kingdom expands concurrently?
“I had just awoken when I received an email informing me that a company-wide meeting was scheduled.” I immediately became aware.”
James, not his actual name, saw the message earlier this year while visiting his family.
I commenced contemplating all that I was destined to forfeit.
He had nearly a decade of experience as a game designer at one of the largest video game studios in the United Kingdom. He had cherished and fantasised about that occupation since he was nine. However, he had been concerned recently.
Friends within the gaming industry were being terminated all around him.
“With my thoughts racing, I was at a loss for what to do.” The current high number of redundancies ensured that I would pursue many jobs. They all transpired simultaneously.
He attended the meeting, which validated his worst concerns. The company’s chief executive officer estimated that approximately 25 per cent of the studio’s staff would be eliminated. James was among them all.
He uttered, “It was rough,” while shaking his head.
Current gaming is a world filled with anxiety. Since the beginning of this year, more than 8,000 positions have been eliminated worldwide, and according to the report Games Positions Live, the number of available jobs in the United Kingdom reached an all-time low in March.
However, last week, during the BAFTA Games Awards 2024 in London, gamers were free to enjoy themselves.
An evening of elegance and sophistication was observed, with a black-tie dress code. A red carpet was rolled out along London’s South Bank, and hundreds of the gaming elite attended.
The Dungeons and Dragons hit crew that went on to win Best Game, Baldur’s Gate 3, strolled the red carpet while taking photographs.
Nadji Jeter, the actor who portrayed Spider-Man in the most recent video game adaptation of the comic book series, was attending the event in London for the first time.
“I’m beyond terrified,” he exclaimed before receiving the principal role award for his performance.
As the evening’s host, comedian Phil Wang gushed over legendary figures whose activities he had enjoyed since his youth.
“Observing loved ones struggle is difficult.”
However, gaming communities are close-knit. Because workers are frequently required to relocate to new cities and towns for employment, coworkers can comprise a significant portion of individuals’ social circles. The redundancies were close to the populace’s consciousness.
“Seeing people in the industry that I adore, who work incredibly hard and are damn talented, the struggle is arduous,” Amelia Tyler, the narrator of Baldur’s Gate 3.
We will eventually be able to drag ourselves out of it, but it will take some time.
Mass redundancies have severely impacted the industry over the past two years. In 2023, over 10,500 individuals employed in the video game industry worldwide experienced job losses, and in 2022, over 8,500 positions were eliminated.
There was optimism that the situation would improve in 2024; however, after four months, an additional 8,000 positions have been eliminated, and the United Kingdom is not exempt from this trend.
“Have we lost so much institutional knowledge!”
Since the cull began, approximately one thousand people have lost their employment nationwide, according to Ukie, the industry trade association. This implies that over one in every thirty video game industry workers in the United Kingdom is impacted.
The originator of the studio responsible for Baldur’s Gate 3, Swen Vincke, did not hold back.
“It is a foolish course of action. A significant amount of institutional knowledge is being lost, which is inexplicable given the industry’s flourishing nature.
There is a growing population of gamers; therefore, you should hold the developers creating these games in high regard.
He has a valid point. More than forty million people play video games regularly in the United Kingdom alone, and the industry is expanding; it is now worth £7.82 billion to the economy.
Thus, what is the situation?
According to the author of the Video Games Industry Memo, an authority, George Osborn, there are three issues: COVID-19, delays in game publishing, and the cost of living crisis.
Later than other industries, the video game sector was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, he stated.
Video game sales skyrocketed during COVID when people were confined to their homes with nothing to do. Globally, the industry generated £27.6 billion more in 2020 compared to 2019, an increase of 21% in revenue in just one year, as the international accounting firm PwC reported.
As a consequence, the industry experienced significant growth. Game studios expanded swiftly and increased their workforce.
Osborn stated that this resulted in an industry bubble and overinvestment by game investors, who have since been damaged because the market was not yet fully developed.
Lockdowns were lifted, and consumers ceased making purchases.
As the lockdowns were lifted, individuals resumed their outdoor activities and reduced their expenditure on gaming as a pastime.
Then, delays ensued. In 2021, the release schedules of at least sixty major games were postponed.
Since then, developers have discussed the difficulty of working remotely and in isolation on these games, although the majority still need to explain. As soon as the games were released, they flooded the market, making it more difficult for lesser games to gain traction.
Each video game released in 2023 attained millions of sales: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Resident Evil 4, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The year was favourable for the significant events but extremely difficult for everyone else.
James, the developer who was terminated, stated that his superiors had anticipated that sales would maintain the same level as they had throughout COVID-19.
“It appeared that the industry is continuing to expand.” “It was simply failing to achieve the desired level of growth.”
“Take a step towards financial freedom – claim your free Webull shares now!”
Like the rest of the world, the gaming industry is experiencing a cost of living crisis.
Osborn stated that prices for video games have mostly stayed the same over the past five years.
This has resulted in a significant increase in the cost of developing games and a weakening market; consequently, despite the industry’s tremendous success last year, more was needed.
Things could be improving…
However, hope may yet prevail at the end of the tunnel. According to data released by Ukie, the industry is once again expanding.
Although its growth has not attained pandemic proportions, when double digits were typical, value was added at a rate of 4.4% last year. Nick Poole, the chief executive officer of Ukie, was eager to convey an upbeat message.
How video games permeate various facets of our culture indicates that the gaming industry has matured.
Even more positively, there was news for James. Despite losing his once-stable employment, he has secured a studio in a city where he has established friendships. During his employment interview, he inquired about the organization’s finances for the very first time.
“Perhaps I was a little too naive, but when I first entered this industry during economic expansion, every position seemed secure; it all depended on the benefits they could provide. “It no longer feels the same,” he explained.
Author of Max Payne and Alan Wake, Sam Lake imparted insight gleaned from more than three decades of experience.
“I wish I were more optimistic. Everything about this resembles a pendulum oscillation. Although circumstances may deteriorate and become more troublesome, or we may face financial difficulties, we have always managed to recover thus far.”
