Self-funding rises among game workers as layoffs persist and union interest grows

• Interest in union membership is rising, with 62% saying they would like to join one.
• More than one-quarter of game workers have been laid off in the past two years.
• Just over one-third of professionals currently use AI tools at work, mainly for research and everyday tasks.
• Unreal Engine leads engine adoption, ahead of Unity, with the strongest uptake at double-A and triple-A studios.

Over one-third of game workers rely mainly on self-funding for projects, while publishing deals are the next most common source of support. 

That's according to a new 2026 State of the Game Industry Survey by GDC Festival of Gaming, which showed that co-development contracts, private investment, and venture capital remain limited.

A large majority of game workers support unionisation, with 82% of US-based respondents in favour. However, union membership among game workers remains limited.

Only 10% belong to an industry-wide union, and 2% part of a company union, but interest is growing as 62% of respondents said they would like to join a union. 

Recent layoffs continue to ripple across the games industry, with 28% of respondents reporting layoffs in the past two years and 50% reporting layoffs at their employer in the past year.

The impact is most pronounced at triple-A studios, while students entering the industry are increasingly pessimistic, citing limited entry-level roles, competition from experienced laid-off workers, and concerns around AI-driven displacement.

AI concerns

On AI use, 36% of professionals said they use AI tools at work. Adoption is highest among business, publishing, and marketing roles, while studio developers report lower usage, and large language models like ChatGPT dominate for research, everyday tasks, and code assistance.

Moreover, sentiment toward generative AI has deteriorated sharply, with 52% of game industry professionals now viewing it as harmful to the industry, up significantly from previous years. 

Negative views are most common among creative and technical roles, while only a small minority see a positive impact, primarily among executives and business-focused professionals.

On the engine front, Unreal is the most widely used game engine among respondents, with 42% naming it as their primary tool, ahead of Unity at 30%. 

Adoption is strongest at double-A and triple-A studios. Unity remains dominant among older indie teams, and Godot has seen modest uptake mainly among newer indie developers.

Also, US-based tariffs are affecting a significant share of the games industry, with 38% of business leaders reporting an impact on costs, revenue, or financial decisions. However, nearly as many reported no impact, while a sizable portion remains unsure.

You can access the full report here.