Lagamorph wrote:What has even been the trigger for all these layoffs this year? It doesn't even seem to be just the games industry but the wider tech industry seems to be impacted as well, despite companies continuing to report increasing profits and revenues.
Well, I know the actual trigger is just "More profits and money for shareholders!!!!" but the companies don't seem to be coming out with even weak excuses.
IMHO it's a combination of factors:
> Despite the famous game industry quotes around "gaming is not affected by challenges in the general economy"... sales are being affected by challenges in the general economy. £70 pricing points are beyond the reach of the mass market for the vast majority of games
> "AAA" gaming budgets are pretty crazy now; the amount of people involved in making them greatly reduces the potential for profit
> Some games are selling incredibly well but many aren't; the market is more polarised than it was. There are some big winners (Fortnite! Call of Duty! Helldivers!) but many more losers
> Some game companies are now so big now that their game releases must be huge hits to support them. If they're not...
> Companies must make more money than before
every single year; any slight decrease and they've "under-performed". Sacking staff is a quick route to saving some money and thus keeping shareholders happy