Layoffs in the games industry: When it rains, it pours | Kaser Focus

We’re only two months into 2024, and we’ve already seen 7,800 members of our industry laid off.

Sometimes I feel that fact needs to be reiterated, because it’s very easy to become numb to the situation. Occasionally, I need to remind myself that this situation isn’t normal — it’s a catastrophe. I want to give myself and everyone hope by saying that things are cyclical and our industry will come back from this. But, being honest, the longer this gloomy period goes on, the bigger the ripple effects are looking for the entire industry.

It’s hard to report on layoffs at the best of times, but the last few weeks have been nothing but hit after hit: Microsoft, Eidos Montreal, Sony, Electronic Arts, Build a Rocket Boy, Deck Nine, Supermassive, ZA/UM, Crop Circle, Hidden Path and Die Gute Fabrik. Those are just the ones I can recall at the moment, and that’s just one month. I have nothing to add to this, per se — I just want to remind everyone of the scope of what’s happening so we don’t all become inured to it and stop caring. Nothing’s going to get better if we do.

Okay, let’s see — positive news, positive news, is there any to be had? I suppose the Pokémon Presents this week offered a nice reprieve. There wasn’t a whole lot of news, but we are getting a new Pokemon mobile game, this time bringing back the nostalgia of card battles (I can’t believe how long it’s been since the first time I held a Pokémon card in my hands). The announcement of Legends: Z-A intrigued me, since it appears to be going into a future version of Lumiose City, as opposed to Legends: Arceus’s trip to the distant past.

As for what games I’m playing this week — I don’t know, it’s hard to find escapism in games given what I know about the industry. But given that Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth has just dropped, I guess I can’t be too down (assuming my husband lets me within a country mile of the PlayStation 5). Also, I think I’ll finally throw myself into Helldivers 2 properly now that some of the server issues have been mitigated. If all else fails, there’s always Tomb Raider to fall back on.

What to play this week:

What’s new:

• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake
• Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster
• Welcome to ParadiZe
• Dicefolk
• Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
• Terror at Oakheart
• Disney Iwájú: Rising Chef

New on subscription services:

• Maneater (Xbox Game Pass)
• Madden NFL 24 (Xbox Game Pass)
• Indivisible (Xbox Game Pass)
• Space Engineers (Xbox Game Pass)
• Gravitar: Recharged (Prime Gaming)
• Call of Duty HQ (GeForce Now)
• Diablo IV (GeForce Now)
• Fort Solis (GeForce Now)
• Hearthstone (GeForce Now)
• Overwatch 2 (GeForce Now)