The ASGC Games Industry Layoffs Tracker counts 10,977 games industry jobs lost in 2026, topping 2025's 9,197 total, and projects even more by December.
People love to focus on the layoffs way waaay too much. They get rehired when a new project starts. It’s not like there’s millions of laidoff game devs wandering the streets.
Ah yes, closed game studios like Bioware, several branches of Ubisoft, Twisted Pixel, and so on are just lining up to rehire for their shuttered game projects and doors.
There’s been major industry wide restructuring and shuttering and trying to just say we should ignore the numbers because they’ll be rehired is really ignoring what’s been going on the last year or two.
People love to focus on the layoffs way waaay too much. They get rehired when a new project starts. It’s not like there’s millions of laidoff game devs wandering the streets.
Ah yes, closed game studios like Bioware, several branches of Ubisoft, Twisted Pixel, and so on are just lining up to rehire for their shuttered game projects and doors.
There’s been major industry wide restructuring and shuttering and trying to just say we should ignore the numbers because they’ll be rehired is really ignoring what’s been going on the last year or two.
I’ve been unemployed for two years. Nobody is getting rehired right now.
What a really stupid take grounded in ignorance.