Layoffs. Sadly, it's a word that game developers are incredibly familiar with. In 2023, over 6,000 jobs were lost. We're still in the first quarter of 2024 and the year is already looking like it'll be worse than the last – over 6,500 people have been laid off since January 1st. I personally fear what the number will be when the year is over.
As a result of constant layoffs, over the last few months, I've thought repeatedly of my former games art professor, Worth Dayley. Years ago he came into class and said, "Tonight's class is going to be a little bit different." He proceeded to give my class a lecture about being laid off.
I wrote this tweet about it yesterday when I saw my friends at PlayStation and Deck Nine lose their jobs...
After I sent the tweet I paused and thought, 'What if Worth would be willing to share the slides?' I reached out to Worth, and thankfully, he said yes.
The presentations are available below. Some, all, or nothing in these presentations may apply to you, so feel free to take what is useful or share it with those who may appreciate it.
The Layoff Talk
This is Worth's broad overview of layoffs in games.
Layoffs, Day-by-Day
This is Worth's breakdown of how he approaches the day-to-day reality of being laid off.
I want to give a monumental thank you to Worth for his help during my time as a student and for providing these materials. I was incredibly grateful for this information when I first saw it and I'm doubly grateful now to Worth for being so honest with his students. He was a true teacher in every sense of the word. Worth is currently the Art Director at Bigscreen VR. If you find what he's shared helpful in any way, please follow him on LinkedIn or at his ArtStation.
I hope the year will be kinder to game developers than we have seen thus far. Hopefully, Worth's presentations can help that in some way.
Lis