Video game industry layoffs reach 10,977 workers in 2026

Video game industry job cuts reached 10,977 workers in 2026, surpassing the total recorded for all of 2025. TweakTown, GameGPU, and Niche Gamer all reported that total layoffs for the current year have already exceeded the previous year's total with months remaining. [1][2][8]

The latest cuts follow a broader wave of contraction across video game studios. Mass layoffs began in 2022 and peaked in January 2024, with an estimated 45,000 jobs lost across the industry between 2022 and July 2025. [9]

Data from the 2026 State of the Game Industry Report published by the Game Developers Conference shows that 33 percent of surveyed American video game workers reported being laid off in the previous two years. That compares to 28 percent of respondents globally in the survey of more than 2,300 industry professionals. Half of all respondents reported that their employer conducted layoffs within the past 12 months, with job losses reported more frequently at large AAA studios. [9]