Amir Satvat’s Post

Execs: if your company can't handle having a large staff then don't openly hire just to lay people off down the line. I express openly how important it is to retain your independence. This means refrain from acquisitions, creating company family portfolios just to shutter them, etc. Be your own company and make the decisions that better your people and your futures. Additionally, if you can't maintain the current workforce of any company you're trying to acquire then kindly back off and leave them be.

I am... You know what... I don't even know what I feel like anymore. All these games layoffs are indescribable. No, it's worse than that. This is like someone says "here, hold this weight.". And you do. Then they hand you another. And another. And another. And you can barely stand anymore. And they say, "clearly, you're not burdened enough gamers. More weight." They are channeling Giles Corey in the Crucible when saying this. And then someone just drops an anvil on your head while laughing at you and they pull a trap door and you fall into a pit to have the Rancor bite your head off. That's what our community is telling me these cuts feel like, and I can't disagree with them. TWO MORE CUTS TODAY Dawon Entertainment, itself, messaged that the studio is being shuttered https://lnkd.in/e_KRcWpJ" Lightforge Games is "downsizing to a skeleton crew" by the end of the month, as reported themselves https://lnkd.in/epZsDqWU If you were in fact affected by these cuts, I am beyond sorry and, our community has three resource "homes" built to help you: HOME 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our hub offering 15 resources to help you find work, including a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility. HOME 2 - 🔗 Please visit discord.gg/amirsatvat to join our Discord, a live extension of our community resources. With over 2,500 members, we are in an open-join phase. HOME 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes over 86,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. To our broader community, your involvement makes a difference. Here’s how you can help: - Spread the word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer support: Utilize the 13 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join our movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 1,800 jobs and 33,000 coaching conversations to date and has been visited by over 100,000 gamers lifetime. We're committed to providing daily encouragement and support during these challenging times. We will never stop fighting for you!

I am very sorry to learn of two additional cuts that happened in games this week: Lively Studio had a "small number of layoffs" while Armor Games Studios laid off its publishing team. Both claims were widely reported across major games press. If your job has been impacted by these closures, please utilize the support available through our three platforms. Specifically, I suggest exploring the Games Org Support Posts in Home 1. These resources have a proven track record of effectiveness, backed by extensive data. There are no simple answers, but our community's primary aim is to ease the burden for as many individuals as possible. Our data shows that for all candidates, your chances of securing a role in the gaming industry double (from 6% to 12%) over 12 months if you consistently use all our resources compared to not using them. I'm truly sorry about this news, and as always, I will do my best to take action rather than just expressing concern. Home 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: This is our main hub offering 18 resources to help you find employment, with a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: You can find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I'll assist in editing and disseminating the final post to reach over 400,000 unique viewers per month. These posts significantly boost visibility, and we've completed 102 of them. Home 2 - 🔗 Discord: Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, our live extension of community resources. With over 4,900 members, we are currently in an open-join phase. Home 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here comprises over 93,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the gaming industry. How the Broader Community Can Help: - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments on this post help increase the visibility of these resources. - Offer Support: Utilize the 16 methods listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the gaming industry. Our network has facilitated over 2,400 jobs and 45,000 coaching conversations to date, making the largest impact of any games organization globally, and has been visited by millions of gamers lifetime. - Over 20% of all gaming jobs found pass through our community at some point, more than anywhere else globally, so please maximize your chances - that's what we are here for.

#AI, Layoffs and AI sour annual Game Developers Conference Despite the sunny spring skies in San Francisco this week, the mood among nearly 30,000 video game industry professionals was gloomy as they descended upon the city for the yearly Game Developers Conference (GDC). Some were so frustrated with the state of affairs in their business that they organized a group screaming session in a park.   “Those of us who have a job and can afford to be here are going through the motions and trying to have a good time,” said Maxi Molina, a game developer attending the event from Spain. “But the vibe is rancid in the industry right now.”   The gaming industry saw more than 10,000 workers laid off in 2023, up from 8,500 in 2022, according to the Game Industry Layoffs project, which tracks game developer and publisher job losses globally. Layoffs have hit studios ranging in size from tiny independent game publishers to titans of the industry like Fortnite maker Epic Games, which laid off 830 employees in September 2023; Microsoft, which cut 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox in January; and Sony, which announced in February it was laying off 900 people globally across its studios. The trend is only accelerating, with 2,000 games industry professionals losing their jobs in February – a five-time increase year over year, according to the layoff tracker.   #AI, #RB https://lnkd.in/eaKWuZK4

"Only a big studio has the luxury to be anti-layoff." ....WHAT?! 😳 First off, I'd like to start this post out by stating I am in no way going after the individual who said this. Rather, I wish to use this as a potential learning opportunity in order to help remove any sort of misconceptions there may be regarding the current state of Games and #IndieRevolution Just this year alone, Obsidian reported that the estimated number of jobs lost in Games was nearing the 10,000's. To be more specific 🤨 PlayStation - 900 Activision Blizzard - 1900 Microsoft - FOUR Studio closures Riot Games - 500 Twitch - 500 Unity - 1800 I'm not even including other well-known studios such as Ubisoft, Electronic Arts (EA), and Nexon America. Of course, among said list are plenty of Indie Studios. However, from my personal experience, closures such as Die Gute Fabrik were handled in a way which not only provided those affected assistance in finding their next home (Take, their VERY in depth spreadsheet showcasing all of their talent), they also have a CEO who most of the time provides a more 'human' response compared to what we've seen in the past. IE: "We need more Games like Hi-Fi Rush." If you know, you know. 😶🌫️ Circling back, If you or anyone you know believes the point first made above, I encourage you to please take a look at all the news articles, resources, and outreach posts that constantly appear in my LinkedIn feed from the likes of Caitlin Cooke, Amir Satvat, Alexander Rehm, Kat Craig, as well as Mayank Grover. You don't have to have a million dollars in your pocket to support people maintaining their lives. #GameIndustry #GameDev #Community #IndieDev #Games #Indie #OpenToNetwork #Layoffs #Support #EntryLevel #Resource #ProjectManager

According to Kotaku, in January 2024 only in gaming industry, companies announced 6100+ layoffs, even small teams are reduced and reasons are different. Let me share a quick assumption and you're welcome to comment yours :) I assume that after a highly productive 2023, companies switched to "eco mode." Typically, during the development of large projects, big companies tend to hire specialists for any emergency needs that may arise. Whether it's fixing lore or overhauling grass animations within a month, these requirements are usually addressed by a new in-house team, and here's a result. Was that unexpected? Not sure, the contracts are usually ending this month but the volume is quite a surprise. Maybe big studios afraid of hiring outsource after last biggest fails like remastering GTA or Warcraft and are trying to keep everything under control so their teams are enlarging and collapsing quickly. Will see in next quarter. Kotaku article: https://lnkd.in/e4Ct7y9m #gaming #layoffs #gamingnews

Another games jobs cut situation today at CI Games as reported by Game Developer's Christopher Kerr and confirmed by the company, saying "This restructure affects approximately 30 roles across production" https://lnkd.in/eHmMFztw Here's where this puts us. I will start exposing these statistics regularly as a reminder of the human cost of these decisions: 100+ games layoffs in 2024 One games layoff situation on average every 1.3 days in 2024 (apologies for getting this inverted in the picture) Over 10,000 games layoffs in 2024 YTD Within 500 cuts of hitting 2023's games layoff number...in May If you were in fact affected by these cuts, I have no words to express my feelings. However, our community has three resource "homes" built to help you: HOME 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our hub offering 15 resources to help you find work, including a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility and we have done 96 of them. HOME 2 - 🔗 Please visit discord.gg/amirsatvat to join our Discord, a live extension of our community resources. With over 2,700 members, we are in an open-join phase. HOME 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes over 86,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. To our broader community, your involvement makes a difference. Here’s how you can help: - Spread the word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer support: Utilize the 13 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join our movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 1,800 jobs and 33,000 coaching conversations to date and has been visited by over 3,000,000 gamers lifetime. We're committed to providing daily encouragement and support during these challenging times. We will never stop fighting for you!

Today I want to shed light on the heroes of our gaming community. Folks I am addressing here have been dedicating their invaluable time to help more than 330k individuals displaced by the cycle of layoffs since Jan'23 last year. 🙏 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. ~Jordan Mazer~ A best-in-class jobs compiler currently, Jordan has had hardcore experience in recruiting for Scopely & Riot Games. Other than helping the community with connecting devs to studios, he is even invested in transforming employees into founders and sharing perceptions on how gaming companies can be funded the most efficiently. ~Amir Satvat~ Amir is a highly active person who strongly believes in the essence of community that video games provide. He is very diligent when it comes to displaying & updating fresh career opportunities with regular insights on breaking into the games industry. As a business development director for Tencent Games, Amir thrives to build a genuine ecosystem of games community because as you can see his passion for his work talks wonders. ~Caitlin Cooke~ Another efficient games enthusiast, Caitlin curates and uploads game careers across the industry frequently. She has worked for Google and GitHub previously to acquire talent for them which has resulted in her growing tech startups with the best talent. ~Alex Gombos~ (laid off recently herself yet compiles jobs to help the community) Alex was recently the talent acquisition manager for Sony Interactive Entertainment itself. With a decade's worth of experience in recruiting for various roles and functions across the games industry, Alex is a lively person always excited about building a strong society of video game talent. ~Victoria Sini~ A Women in Games Ambassador, Victoria is a talent lead who is also a gamer. She is proud of Studiotypes, the company she recruits for, and other than hiring and posting brand-new jobs she helps set up teams from scratch, plus with her company, supports scale-up rounds too. ~Hailey Rojas~ Hailey is highly passionate about game design. As a project manager and a leader in building the games community, you can expect Hailey to provide you with the latest and most recent jobs all the while staying toe-to-toe about current video game trends. Is your company or any studio that you know actively hiring? Or maybe you were impacted by the layoffs? 🙌 Here is a list of valuable resources compiled together to ease the processes of hiring and applying for studios and game devs respectively across the video game community - https://lnkd.in/gFCQQV9r #layoffsupport

Is the Gaming Industry Facing a Creative Slump? News of #layoffs, a constant stream of sequels and remakes, and whispers of industry-wide burnout paint a concerning picture. Could the "Golden Age" of gaming, a time of explosive creativity and genre-defining titles, be fading in the rearview mirror? There's a sense that studios are prioritizing financial security over groundbreaking ideas. This risk aversion could be fueled by several factors: 1️⃣ Mega-Mergers: The consolidation of the #gaming industry into a handful of giant players might stifle the creativity that often thrives in smaller, more independent studios. We've seen in the past that these smaller outfits/indie studios are the breeding ground for fresh concepts and innovative mechanics. When they're swallowed by larger entities, their maverick spirit can be lost. 2️⃣ Sequel Mania: The endless churn of sequels to established franchises feels like a symptom of a larger problem. Studios might be prioritizing proven formulas over taking chances on unproven original ideas. This approach might be commercially safe, but it can lead to a sense of stagnation and a lack of fresh experiences for gamers. That's a common issue we see with AAA games nowadays. 3️⃣ Overworked Devs: The crunch culture that can pervade game development takes a toll on creativity. Exhausted developers simply can't be expected to consistently deliver the kind of groundbreaking work that pushes the boundaries of the industry. These are just some of the concerns swirling around the gaming industry. It's a complex issue, and I'm sure there are multiple perspectives. What are your views on the matter? Do you agree with my analysis? Let me know in comments below! PlayStation Nintendo #gamedev #gamingindustry #futureofgaming #discusion Gamers Home

Today was a very tough day. Lost Boys Interactive faced their second round of layoffs in eight months, and Dutch Game Garden will be shutting down in January 2025 after 17 years. You are not alone. We're here to help as much as any games individual or organization can. We don’t do this for money or recognition — we’re an all-volunteer, free community that genuinely cares about all gamers. That's what we're here for. --- FOR THOSE AFFECTED - WELCOME TO Amir Satvat's Games Community "Number 1 For 'Games Jobs Resources'" - Google Search We will not rest until every gamer is employed. OUR TOOLS WORK - We reach over 400,000 unique viewers monthly and nearly 4,000,000 unique viewers annually across all platforms. - Our games community has facilitated over 2,600 jobs and 47,000 coaching conversations, the largest impact of any games individual or community in the universe. - Our data shows that we can double your job-seeking success from 6% to 12% on average for those who engage with all our tools over a multi-month period. - Over 20% of all trackable games jobs found touch some part of our community. - Always free (nothing wrong with those who charge; just our choice), always with love, and always without ulterior motives. AMIRSATVAT.COM - Our main hub offers 19 resources for games employment assistance with an uplifting, easy-to-use design. - Use our template for Games Org Support Posts (Category 4, Resource 13) to maximize the visibility of those affected at your games company. We have completed 106 posts highlighting nearly 3,000 candidates. Discord - Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, a complementary, live, games career support community with nearly 5,600 members. Currently open to new members. LinkedIn - Follow me and join the discussion here on LinkedIn, with over 96,000 members and 1-3 daily posts providing support and career assistance in the games industry, the largest Top Voice games community on the platform. How the Games Community Can Help - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments increase resource visibility. - Join Our Movement: Choose one or several of the 17 ways to help gamers on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help," or provide advice on Discord.