2024 Was the Year the Bottom Fell Out of the Games Industry
WiredFor people who make video games, 2024 was a year of holding on for dear life. At the annual Game Developers Conference in March, “Survive till ’25” was this year’s incantation, summoned to keep morale on pace. While there were wins for labor organizers at big studios like Activision Blizzard, and collective action around fighting for protection from the encroachment of AI on employment, the industry’s collective brain drain continued in 2024 as workers lost jobs en masse. According to Matthew Ball, an adviser and producer in the games and TV space, 2024’s job-loss count will wind up being about 40 percent higher than the previous year’s. Although there have been incredible games released this year—Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong—they just couldn’t distract from the troubles faced by the people making them.
History of this topic
Hasbro’s Gamer CEO Focuses on Play After Film Business Sale
Live Mint
‘Halo’ and ‘Destiny 2’ video game studio to lay off 17% of its workforce
LA Times
The best games of 2024, picked by NPR's staff
NPR
Riot Games to lay off 530 workers amid broader gaming industry cuts
LA Times
Mass Layoffs Are Causing Big Problems in the Video Games Industry
Wired
The best games of 2023, picked by the NPR staff
NPR
Long hours and ‘a pile of white dudes’: Annual survey looks at game industry working conditions
LA TimesDiscover Related
