Gaming layoffs hit Microsoft, Riot Games, and others as growth continues to slow post-pandemic

Less than a month into 2024, widespread layoffs are continuing to hit tech companies hard—especially in their gaming departments, which expanded to meet pandemic-era demand.

Gaming giants and are now downsizing to match a slowing industry, which saw an estimated 0.6% growth in 2023, compared to 8% in 2020. Layoffs have affected an estimated 3,770 gaming professionals so far this year according to VideoGameLayoffs.com.

Here’s the latest:

• Microsoft plans to cut 1,900 workers in its gaming division, the company confirmed to Fast Company on Thursday. The announcement comes on the heels of Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard—which owns the games Call of Duty, Diablo, and Candy Crush Saga—last October.
• Riot Games announced plans to lay off 530 employees, about 11% of its staff, in a statement issued Monday. The League of Legends developer cited a need to cut costs after expanding across too many areas, and said it plans to focus more closely on its games division.
• Twitch, Amazon’s video game streaming platform, laid off more than 500 employees, about 35% of its staff, on January 10 after cutting 400 jobs last March. Twitch’s uncertain future comes after hours watched on the site saw a 45% rise during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021.
• Unity, the video game software provider used by over one million game creators, announced plans to lay off 1,800 employees (25% of its staff) on January 8, the fourth round of layoffs at the company since July 2022. The last round, on November 28, cut 265 employees.

This year’s job cuts continue widespread post-pandemic layoffs at gaming companies, which affected an estimated 10,500 jobs in 2023 and 8,500 in 2022, according to VideoGameLayoffs.com.

• Fortnite maker Epic Games laid off 830 employees, 16% of its workforce, in September, citing needs to cut costs to more closely match revenue.
• TikTok’s owner ByteDance laid off hundreds of employees from its failed “Nuverse” gaming department back in November after it struggled to compete with more popular gaming companies like NetEase and Tencent.
• Roblox laid off 30 people from its talent acquisition team back in September, suggesting a slowdown in future hiring.
• Snap laid off around 20% of its more than 6,400 employees, many of whom worked to bring app- and game-building capabilities inside Snapchat, in August 2022.

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