In 2024, every tenth developer in the game industry reported losing their job. In addition, the industry has experienced many canceled projects, closed studios, and other difficulties, which are described in more detail in the new report 2025 State of Game Industry by Game Developers Conference.
The report covers more than 3 thousand developers and industry professionals and touches upon various aspects, including staff reduction, the introduction of generative AI, the development of game services, and even the impact of climate change on the industry.
2023 was a difficult year for the gaming industry due to numerous layoffs, but 2024 was even worse, when more than 14 thousand developers lost their jobs. Every tenth employee in the industry (11%) reported being laid off. The largest number of layoffs was in the narrative area (19% of the total), while the business and finance department suffered the least losses - only 6%.
41% of game developers felt the impact of layoffs, 29% said that their direct colleagues were fired, and 18% saw other teams being laid off. 4% reported being laid off as a result of studio closures.
Among the most common reasons for dismissal are restructuring (22%), 18% - a drop in profits, and another 15% - changes in the gambling market. 19% of respondents said that they were not informed of the reason for their dismissal. Mezha told more about layoffs in the gaming industry in a separate article.
Next, game developers spoke about generative artificial intelligence in the survey. 30% of respondents believe that generative AI has a negative impact on games and the industry. In 2023, only 12% said so. Among the biggest problems, developers note the theft of intellectual property, energy consumption, and the fact that games become of poorer quality due to the use of AI. They also note the potential bias of AI programs and regulatory issues.
More than half of the respondents - 52% - said that their companies have already started using AI, and 36% have used the new technologies themselves. AI is most commonly used in finance and business departments (51%), followed by management (41%), and then community, public relations, and marketing (39%).
80% of developers said they are currently creating games for PC, up from 66% in 2023. One potential reason for this increase could be Steam Deck, or the fact that PC games generate almost twice as much revenue as console games. Among other things, 16% of developers reported that they are working on games for browsers, the highest figure in a decade.
In addition, every third developer is working on service games. 16% are working right now, 13% are interested in such projects, and 41% said they are not interested in working on such games at all. Developers point out the positive aspects of game services, such as a constant stream of revenue and community building, but there are also negative views, such as a constant drop in the number of players due to market overcrowding, creative stagnation, microtransactions, and more.
Another interesting element is that the gaming industry relies on developers who finance their own projects, with 56% of respondents. They said that they invested their own money in the creation of games. Another 28% have taken part in project-based or publisher-based funding deals. At the same time, 89% of respondents who have invested their own money in games say that it turned out to be a successful decision for them.
In addition, developers report that climate change also has an impact on games. In particular, 16% of developers said that they or their company had been significantly affected by natural disasters. 76% said they were not affected, and 8% said they did not know if it had any impact. Floods, hurricanes, storms, and other water-related disasters had the greatest impact on game developers. Severe heat, forest fires, and earthquakes were also mentioned.