The wave of layoffs in the gaming industry continues to spread. From Xbox, EA, Ubisoft to Embracer, tens of thousands of developers have lost their jobs in just a few years. Just as the outside world was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with this round of layoffs, Dave Gallacher, the QA manager of Arrowhead, the development team of “Helldivers 2”, directed his anger directly at the top management, and even said rudely: “I really don’t understand why the management of Ubisoft and Embracer didn’t go to jail.” This sentence instantly detonated the gaming circle.
Greed brings down entire industries
When Dave Gallacher discussed layoffs in the game industry on LinkedIn, he said that over the past decade or so, those who have had the money and decision-making power have been “greedy fools,” while the real victims are thousands of talented developers. He also named Ubisoft and Embracer, criticizing the two companies for causing a large number of studios to close and employees to lose their jobs through various business strategies and reorganizations. He frankly said that he could not understand at all why these senior executives have not been held accountable more seriously.
He also mentioned that he has said for three consecutive years that “this year will be a bloodbath.” As a result, the situation in the gaming industry has become worse year by year. When companies lay off a large number of developers while investing resources in new technologies such as AI, he couldn’t help but describe it as the “darkest timeline” for the gaming industry.
Developers are being laid off, but what’s left is a mess?
In recent years, Embracer has undergone large-scale restructuring, closing studios and canceling projects one after another; Ubisoft has continued to downsize and lay off employees, and even recently admitted in its annual report that the “loss of key talent” has become a major operating risk for the company. This phenomenon of laying off employees while worrying about retaining talents has also led to questions from the outside world about whether it is the market environment or the management’s own decisions that really hurt the company.
Gallacher’s remarks may have been fierce, but they also reflected the sentiments shared by many developers. When every wave of financial reports is accompanied by news of layoffs, the people who really leave the company are often not the people who make decisions, but those who actually make the game.