This year has been absolutely brutal with game development layoffs. I’ve been putting off commenting about the recent string of layoffs in the industry. But, after seeing an announcement from one of my favorite dev studios, I decided to jump in. This article will focus on what to do after getting laid off and how to prepare for the next one.
Layoffs are not new in the gaming industry. However, the number of layoffs to game developers jumped drastically in the last few months.
PC Gamer recently published an article, The Impact of 16,000 games industry layoffs, which covers the layoffs at a high level. They reference a useful site which shows the reported Gaming Industry Layoffs of 2023 and Gaming Industry Layoffs of 2024. Keep in mind that these are the reported layoffs and company closures. Many small game companies don’t publicly report their failures. The following chart from PC Gamer shows the game development layoffs since January 2023.
I know of one large developer who laid off a number of its staff just before Christmas, but they didn’t end up in either of those tallies since the layoffs were reported from their parent company which is not in gaming. On top of that, it’s now projected that we’re sitting at 6-7k layoff so far in 2024 which sickens me. The volatility of the gaming industry is out of control right now. It’s also one of the reasons I walked away from game development.
My Experience with Game Development Layoffs
I’m no stranger to layoffs in the gaming industry. The first company I worked for paid us every other paycheck (cutting our pay in half) for over 6 months before I bailed. Next, I tried working for a startup which never made money. Then, I jumped to a game publisher that went bankrupt the day before payday. After that, I worked for a large publisher before they dissolved an entire game genre division. Finally, after working with another game company, I received my first and only layoff package.
With that out of the way, let’s move to the real focus of this article. What to do after losing a job in the game industry and how to prepare for future layoffs.
What to Do After a Layoff or Job Loss?
The moment you receive word that you lost your job either through a layoff, bankruptcy, or other reasons, it’s important to not overreact. It is natural to feel that the company or your manager betrayed you or that it should have been someone else who lost their job. Try to pay attention during the meeting. However, understand that the most important details are in the paperwork they are likely handing you.
After meeting with your manager or HR, take some time to gather your thoughts and emotions. Then, read through the paperwork. It should outline the full process including dates, payments, extended benefits, and a list of what you need to do. When you have a better understanding of what just happened, contact your spouse or significant other to inform them that you lost your job. Let them know that you will sit down together and figure out the next steps when you are both home.
If you have children, decide together what information you will share with them. When my kids were young, we only told them when we were moving. However, we told them everything when I was laid off while the oldest was in high school. It’s up to you and your spouse how much to disclose and when to do it.
Take Time Off & Evaluating Options
If you did receive a layoff package with severance, plan to take some time off. You’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster, and need time to clear your head and calm down. Jumping directly into a job hunt will put you in a bad negotiating position and it will be easier for the interviewers to read your emotional state. You also need to decompress. Spend time with your family and friends and try to reconnect with your life outside of work. We often get so caught up in the day-to-day work life that we overlook the important parts of life.
How long you stay in this stage is up to you. I suggest you look at your severance package, savings, and budget. If you weren’t already doing so, track all your expenses. Trim out all unneeded expenses. Stop eating out. Cancel useless memberships and subscriptions. Cut your monthly spending to the bare bones. It can take a while to find another job. Especially, if layoffs are hitting the industry hard across the board. Your finances need to last until you get your next paycheck. We’ll go more into preparing for layoffs financially in the next section.
One option many people overlook is filing for Unemployment. Doing so can be embarrassing, but it will help get some additional income while you look for your next job. Check with your state or local unemployment agency for the process. I didn’t realize this was an option until my final job loss.
Preparing for the Job Hunt
Once you feel ready, update your status on LinkedIn to Open for Work. This will put a small banner around your profile picture that indicates you are open to talking with recruiters. Make sure your profile is updated with your previous work experience and set the end date with your employer. Once that is in place, you will be ready for recruiters who actively scour LinkedIn.
Next, update your resume. There are many websites and books that talk about building a resume. I suggest condensing it to a single page. Having seen hundreds of resumes in my career, the faster you can convince me that you have the qualifications, the more likely I will reach out to you. A 1-page resume is more likely to be read in full than a 5-page resume. Place the most important information at the top like your skills list, shipped titles, and you last job. The further your resume goes into the past, the less useful it is to a new employer.
The Job Search
Once you’re ready to look for a new job, make a list of all gaming companies you can think of. Add to that the companies where your LinkedIn connections work, and those that made games you played in the last 5 years. Check the jobs/careers website for each of the game companies and save the hyperlinks in a document that you can check weekly for updates.
As you find positions you are interested in, add the hyperlinks of those postings to the document. If you know someone who works at the company, reach out to them and ask if they will refer you to the job. Many companies will give a cash incentive to employees who refer someone that is later hired, and referrals jump to the top of the application pile. Apply for all other positions that you qualify for.
This is also the point when you need to consider looking outside the gaming industry. Decide if you want to continue limiting yourself to just one area of the job market or if your skillset extends to other spheres. Many people successfully jump from making video games to adjacent or completely unrelated fields. Looking in another industry will expand your options for potential employment and may significantly speed up getting hired.
Recruiters Vs. Headhunters
There’s a big difference between a recruiter and a headhunter. Though, both will claim they are recruiters. A true recruiter works for a company and spends their time looking for candidates to fill open roles. On the other hand, headhunters work for 3rd party agencies or for themselves and gets a finders’ fee for filling a position. From my personal experience, recruiters are much easier to work with and are more vested in finding the best people for the job. There’s also the possibility that the salary offered to you is lower if a headhunter was involved, since the company will need to pay extra to satisfy their end of the deal.
If real recruiters send you networking requests through LinkedIn, accept them. They tend to move around the industry between companies and are good to have as contacts.
Preparing for Layoffs
With the obvious volatility in the video gaming industry, layoffs and job losses should be expected and planned for. Start today to plan for the next one. Don’t procrastinate.
Saving for a Rainy Day
While you are working with a steady paycheck, do everything you can to free up your budget and lighten the burden of your monthly expenses. The biggest drag on your financial path is debt and it should be eliminated while you have the means. Doing so will reduce your monthly cost of living, giving you additional freedom and peace of mind when the next storm hits.
There are many programs out there which detail how to get your financial house in order. The best I’ve seen and the one that matches the closest with what we did is the baby steps from Dave Ramsey. His book, The Total Money Makeover, describes in detail the steps needed to get an emergency fund in place, get out of debt, fortify the emergency fund, and invest for the future. I don’t agree 100% with some of his investment advice, but he is the master at getting people on solid financial ground, so I encourage you to look at his program.
If you follow the baby steps program through step #3, you will have a cushion to protect you and your family for the next financial hardship. Having no debt with a 6-month emergency fund and a knowledge of budgeting will help protect you through the loss of a job. Any severance that you may receive is just gravy on top of that. I didn’t learn this lesson until after the 3rd company went bankrupt. That’s when we decided to prepare for the next round and focused on purging our debt.
Periodically update your LinkedIn profile to reflect any changes in your position at work and games you have shipped. Most people simply add text to their profile, but you can also add the images from the cover art of the games you ship. Doing so will help your profile stand out against the typical, bland profiles most recruiters encounter.
Resumes
Keep your resume up-to-date. After the first few companies I worked with fell apart, I got in the habit of updating my resume at least once per year. Most game companies have an annual review cycle where your manager evaluates how well you did in the last year. That is a perfect time for you to reflect on the work you did and the game(s) you shipped. So, take those reflections and update your resume. It’s almost impossible to think back after working for a company for 5+ years and pull out the most important work you did.
As mentioned in the previous section, limit your resume to a single page. I can’t emphasize the importance of doing this enough. Managers receive countless resumes, especially for low to mid-level positions. Anything you can do upfront to streamline the process when they are simply looking at your resume can reflect on how efficient you will be while working for them. It’s not discussed often, but many of them only spend a minute or less for each resume. Be different and stand out from the pack.
Resume Outline
The following is a useful outline to consider. Don’t add information that is not applicable to the job you are applying for. It will only muddy the resume and make it harder to discover why you are the right fit.
- Name, phone, and email address
- List skills, technologies (UE, Unity, etc.), and platforms (PC, XSX, PS5, etc.)
- List all shipped and announced titles. Don’t include unannounced games unless they are listed as “Unannounced RGP” or something similar and you worked on them for more than a year.
- Work experience from most recent to oldest. Your latest position should have the most details with the older ones containing fewer as they go down the page.
- Limit education to a single line. I had a recruiter suggest removing it, but then everyone asked if I had a degree, so I added it back.
I could ramble on about this topic, especially when it comes to saving for a rainy day. If you have any questions or recommended topics for future posts or videos, feel free to post them in the comments below.
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