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Over 630 professionals in the games industry lost their jobs in June

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The games industry saw a significant number of layoffs in June 2024. According to estimates by the Game Industry Layoffs project, 632 people lost their jobs last month. This is lower compared to the 1,300 layoffs that occurred in the same period last year but similar to the 600+ layoffs seen in March this year. However, it is considerably less than the massive 6,000+ layoffs in January and other high numbers in February (2,000+), April (1,000+), and May (770+).

Major Layoffs in June 2024

Sumo Group: 250 employees were laid off, including around 100 people from the now-closed Timbre Games studio. This studio was working on two unannounced titles for PC and consoles.

Behaviour Interactive: 95 employees were let go as part of strategic changes to focus on supporting “Dead by Daylight,” developing new horror games, and collaborating with third-party studios.

Gameloft: 90 employees were laid off, including 49 people from its Toronto studio and 41 from the Kharkiv office.

Avalanche Studios: 50 employees were laid off after the closure of its offices in New York and Montreal, aiming to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company.

VRChat: Around 50 employees, or 30% of its workforce, were laid off. The company stated that their team was too large to support the health and growth of the business.

Other studios affected by layoffs in June include Striking Distance, Techland, Paradox Tectonic (which closed), Pieces Interactive (which also closed), and Ubisoft Toronto.

It’s important to note that the Game Industry Layoffs project doesn’t capture all job cuts. For example, Chinese media company Perfect World reportedly laid off hundreds of employees across its divisions. Smaller studios, like indie team Cut to Bits, also saw significant layoffs, with the majority of their staff let go last month. Moreover, not all companies disclose their layoff information, making some estimates potentially inaccurate due to a lack of official data.

Since the beginning of the year, game companies have laid off nearly 11,000 people. Considering the lack of data for some studios, the actual number is likely higher. This already surpasses the estimated 10,500 layoffs for the entire year of 2023.