One third of surveyed US games industry workers were laid off in the last two years, GDC reports

A report from GDC has shed a rather sobering light on the state of things, revealing that one third of surveyed US workers within the industry were laid off in the last two years.

According to GDC’s 2026 State of the Game Industry Report – which included data provided by over 2300 respondents including developers, producers, marketers, executives and investors – 33 percent of respondents in the US had been laid off over the past 24 months.

Looking further afield to include other countries as well, 28 percent of those surveyed from within the industry reported they had been laid off in the same period, which is over a quarter of all respondents.

17 percent of those surveyed, meanwhile, stated they had been laid off in the past 12 months. “The total number of layoffs could be higher, though, as some may have experienced more than one layoff in the past two years,” the report notes.

Almost half of the respondents – 48 percent – said they were still looking for employment after being laid off. Of those who were laid off one to two years ago, 36 percent said they still haven’t found other games industry employment.

“Over 450 respondents reported experiencing an acquisition, closure, or merger in the past year. About 31 percent of those people also reported being laid off, though it’s unclear how many were a direct result of said company changes,” the report reads. “AAA and older indie respondents were more likely to report their companies were acquired, and newer indie studios were more likely to close.”

In terms of professions within the industry, game designers reported the highest percentage of layoffs over the last 12 months, with 20 percent of those surveyed affected. This percentage includes those in narrative design.

At the other end of the scale, those working in business operations and services reported the lowest percentage of layoffs, with eight percent affected.

As to the reason why these layoffs happened, 43 percent cited company restructuring, while 32 percent said it was due to a project getting cancelled. Budget cuts and market conditions were also cited by 38 percent of respondents.

“Leadership failed to see that the Covid-era boom was not permanent, [and the] company went on an acquisition spree before being acquired,” one respondent told GDC. “Now, money is a lot tighter because the goldfish with the money want returns yesterday so they can funnel it into the current fad (genAI).”

Another respondent, who was laid off less than 12 months ago, said: “Executives who have never actually worked as a dev are pulling up the boards on their ships, throwing people overboard, and expecting these scuttled ghost ships to keep making them infinite money.”

Some respondents added their employers were working to retain their staff, “in spite of ongoing challenges”.

Layoffs and closures remain an ongoing issue in 2026. Earlier this month, Ubisoft shocked everyone when it announced a “major organisational, operational and portfolio reset”, which saw the company delay seven unspecified projects, close two studios and cancel multiple games.

For more on this topic, back in 2024, Chris Dring wrote an in-depth feature about everything going on with layoffs in the video games industry.