The thought might seem silly—why get rid of developers just to replace them in a few months?—but this sort of thing happens often. And the explanation is simple, according to one ex-employee. The development team didn't need those people for pre-production—the period of time in which the basics of a game are…

I once looked seriously at a career in game art and design, but like you said, after doing some research it just lost so much of its previous lustre. Especially after doing a tour of one of EA's big studios.

Agree, at condition like this, it is better get stable job and treat game as labor of love in spare times. By going indie while having bill paid by other means, you can do whatever you want with your game. No need to cut corners, no need to crunch mobile garbage every week. It can take a year or a decade and no one…

Sorry, it seems I wasn't able to convey my point accurately.

Hello Everyone,

So why are layoffs such a common occurrence? Why are so many video game studios closing? Why do we hear so many stories about layoff cycles and "reorganizations" that leave even the most successful developers out of jobs? Why does it feel like the people who make video games are always on the hook?

Everyone gets into the industry because they love games. Then we leave the industry because love of games doesn't pay the rent, artistic fulfillment doesn't make up for never seeing our families, and good work doesn't actually mean we'll still be employed in a year.

If you want to play good games made by people who…

So what you're saying is, stop buying games during the holidays. Got it.

Priority number one for public companies is keeping shareholders happy, which means showing big numbers on their earnings reports every quarter. When those spreadsheets start looking sickly, a publisher can save money by cutting one of their biggest costs: people. (The average yearly salary for game developers,…

Some more geographic centralization would do the American game industry a world of good....and be a potential boon to developers, eventually leading to a guild/publisher business model. The traditional hotspots, Seattle, LA, Bay Area, Austin, Boston should be narrowed down...LA or Bay Area and Seattle really make the…

When I was in business school, I had a finance professor who asked on the first day of class the very first question:

Playing Madden for more than 10 minutes makes me feel completely hollow and dead inside. I can't imagine how you went to work on it every day. My condolences, and best of luck in your new life

I've lived through two major studio-layoffs, including the day we didn't get paid at Big Huge Games (via 38 Studios). I can assure you, drinks at your desk are the best case scenario. At BHG, we kept coming into the office for a week afterwards, because we were in shock, none of us knew what to do with ourselves, and…

After working several years in the game industry I can say that, without a hint of remorse or a twinge of regret, the industry can go fuck itself. Studios that open and shutter faster than bowel movements, sub-par pay (if you aren't and executive anyways... go figure), INSANE hours, a constant denigration if you…

Jason,

The thing that publishers used to understand, but don't care about anymore is that game "Teams" are successful because they're a team !

Holding a bachelor's in game design, I have been a level designer, a UI designer, an AI designer, QA tester and UX designer.. All for different studios and different projects. I'm 28 and I have uprooted 4 times in the last 5 years. This industry is volatile. Period. My advice to any future/current/aspiring industry…

To be quite frank, this might be harsh to say, but at the end of the day, everyone is responsible for this. Since a few years ago, it seems quantity over quality has become the preferred way to do business. Quantity does not guarantee profit, quality does.

That's kind of the point. They don't care about 10 years in the future. They care about 4 months in the future., at their next fiscal report. Most businesses right now are hyperfocused on short term gain, over long term, and it's hurting all sorts of industries.