It’s no big secret that 2023 was an extremely taxing year for the games industry. From start to finish, more than 10,000 developers were laid off around the world, and some studios closed entirely – even some that had been trading for decades. It was a tough year for everyone involved, and even though record-high numbers (sales, players, releases) were recorded across the board, it was a remarkably stressful time for those in the thick of it.
Now, in a report published by GamesIndustry.biz, it has been revealed that senior stakeholders in the industry are bracing for an even tougher year in 2024 – and beyond, with one CEO stressing that they’re holding firm for ‘up to two years of pain’.
Tough Times Ahead
In the report published by GamesIndustry.biz, feedback and insider expectations obtained from CEOs and senior bosses paint a dire picture for the year ahead. It was said by one unnamed CEO that:
If 2023 was the year of layoffs, 2024 will be the year of closures. Not just developers, but publishers, media, service companies… There are just too many unprofitable businesses in video games. We’re looking at up to two years of pain.
With growing costs and oversaturation running rampant, a rocky landscape is being presented to all comers in the industry at present. One stakeholder explained that developers are ‘doing too many things that aren’t delivering’. Last year, Steam saw a record-high number of games released on the platform. There’s a staggering number of titles making their way to market, but such a small percentage of them are seeing success.
That’s why so many organisations have started divesting their assets and making cuts in their workforces. Recently, we’ve seen the likes of Embracer go on a spree of slicing studios and employees away from themselves to stay afloat.
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