Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon’s Palworld lawsuit, Playtika’s acquisition, and Ubisoft gets workers back to the office
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Job Losses
UK VR games developer nDreams set to lay off up to 17.5% of staff
Studio, which was acquired by Aonic in November 2023, was previously said to employ 250 staff
Loads Of Layoffs
Microsoft’s latest layoffs reportedly impact Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile and Warcraft Rumble teams
Warzone: Mobile has generated less than 10% of Call of Duty: Mobile’s revenue in respective first six months
Podcast | Episode 28
The Unity Runtime Fee is dead! | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 28...
Week That Was
The Unity Runtime Fee aftermath, more Xbox layoffs, and Monster Hunter Now's $225m year | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Hot Five
Hot Five: Turkey blocks Roblox, Jam City layoffs, and the sinking of Shipyard Games
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Mass Redundancies
Intel to lay off 15,000 staff as part of $10 billion cost savings plan
Plans will impact 15% of the company's workforce
Lively Layoffs
Lively Studio undergoes layoffs for the sake of "long-term health"
The Keywords subsidiary will reportedly lay off a small number of people, while sister studio Electric Square remains unaffected
Podcast | Episode 22
How Lilith Games builds billion-dollar mobile hits | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 22...
Week That Was
Netflix sticks with games, Humble Games closure confusion and Monster Hunter Now levels up | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Layoffs
Humble Games denies shutting down after reportedly laying off all staff
36 employees said to be impacted by decision as publisher says it's going through another restructure
Studio Closure
NetherRealm is shutting down Mortal Kombat Onslaught
The closure comes just a year after launch
Executive Departures
Perfect World CEO and co-CEO resign after mass layoffs
Senior VP Gu Liming takes reins at Chinese developer
Week That Was
Monopoly GO! comes full circle, hot takes, Lilith Games' secret sauce and more job losses | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Job Losses
Report: Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm lays off mobile team
One report claims at least 50 staff impacted by the move
Job Losses
160 jobs axed as Scottish animation firm Axis Studios goes into administration
Decline in new projects and increasing labour costs led to "severe cash flow problems" before collapse
Job Losses
BeReal hit by layoffs following Voodoo acquisition
Around 28 staff impacted by job losses; photo-sharing app maker reportedly had 60 employees earlier this year
Job Losses
Gameloft Toronto lays off 49 staff
Publisher blames "ever-changing market conditions" for the redundancies
Job Losses
Reports: One Punch Man: World developer Perfect World lays off as many as 1,000 staff
The Chinese media firm is is also said to have halted worked on One Punch Man: World and Perfect New World
Hot Five
Hot Five: Japan’s newest stars, Nordic numbers, and Tripledot Studios’ acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Hot Five
Hot Five: Zenless Zone Zero's 40m pre-registrations, Squad Busters' $10M in week one, and what iOS 18 REALLY means for games
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Job Losses
Sumo Group to lay off up to 15% of staff
As many as 250 staff across its UK, Canada, Poland, Czech Republic and India offices could be impacted
Layoff After Layoff
Behaviour Interactive laying off approximately 7% of workforce with new "clear ambitions" focus
Up to 95 staff were reported to be affected by the latest layoffs, with 70 based in Montreal
Hot Five
Hot Five: Disney x Fortnite, Sega’s sonic speed, and a potential Keywords Studios buyout
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Layoffs
Square Enix braces for layoffs in US and Europe
IT, publishing and Square Enix Collective teams set to be hit by redundancies
Job Losses
Australian dev Mighty Kingdom layoffs of 28% of staff
Studio expects annualised cost savings of $2.1 million
Loads Of Layoffs
More Xbox cutbacks hit ZeniMax with only Microsoft’s mobile ventures now unscathed
Microsoft’s Alpha Dog, Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and ZeniMax have all been impacted this week
Job Losses
Microsoft closes Mighty Doom dev Alpha Dog, Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and more
Bethesda the latest in the firing line following 1,900+ layoffs at Activision and Xbox earlier this year
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Loads Of Layoffs
Belka Games lays off 20% of workforce as it becomes "more critical" of future titles
At least 33 people have been let go, including a number of team leads
Loads Of Layoffs
A Thinking Ape lays off staff across game design, software engineering, art teams and more
Layoffs continue to impact the games industry as restructuring persists in 2024
Job Losses
GTA publisher Take-Two to cut 5% of staff as it cancels new games
Move will cost up to $200 million
Loads Of Layoffs
Kwalee layoffs impact up to 10% of workforce, report claims
Kwalee has laid off up to 40 people as industry-wide job cuts continue
Uk Ukie
UK video games market hits £7.82 billion valuation with mobile up 4.5%
Ukie’s Consumer Market Valuation Report reveals the UK games industry saw 4.4% YoY growth in 2023
Making Sense Of Slowdown
The IGDA calls for "sustainable measures" to stop mass layoffs and "stop driving talent away"
The International Game Developers Association calculates that more than 8,700 game developers have lost their jobs so far this year
Spring Survey
Values Value and InGame Job launch the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
The survey is looking to understand how layoffs are affecting confidence in the future of the games industry
Industry Insights
“We believe the industry is on track for growth this year and is projected to reach $190 billion by the end of 2024”
Konvoy VC’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Josh Chapman shares his thoughts on industry layoffs, the state of gaming and what can be expected from venture capital funding this year
Top Topics
10 games industry questions answered: From AI and alternative app stores to layoffs and more
Omdia's analysts and researchers spill the truth on the industry’s key topics, including post-pandemic recalibrations and the "ballooning development costs" of triple-A games
Loads Of Layoffs
Sega lays off 240 employees and sells Relic Entertainment
Sega Europe, Creative Assembly and Sega HARDlight are all affected by the layoffs
Job Losses
Tennis Clash developer Wildlife Studios lays off 133 staff
"Our investment in new games remains unaffected"
Ip Intentions
EA's new mobile strategy focuses around "significant library of owned IP"
Mobile continues to be the largest gaming platform and EA sees strong growth opportunities in the segment
Hot Five
Hot Five: EA layoffs, Unity shares falls amid restructure, and Rollic picks up Barbie licence
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Job News
505 Games downsizes operations, closes offices in Spain, France and Germany
The news first broke as part of the company's initial announcement in November 2023
Job Losses
EA lays off 5% of staff as it cuts licensing deals and closes offices
Restructuring plan will cost publisher up to $165 million
Layoffs Looming
Trouble at the top for Esports as ESL Faceit Group lays off 15% of staff
Up to 300 people are expected to lose their jobs across departments and seniority levels as "sustainable growth ambitions and profitability" take priority
Jobs Cuts
EA lays off staff after sunsetting MLB Tap Sports and F1 Mobile Racing
“Unfortunately, the game was unable to meet our performance expectations".
Hot Five
Hot Five: Microsoft goes multiplat, Fortnite to return to iOS, but global games industry layoffs continue
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Rallying The Troops
“2023 was a shitty year. 2024 will probably be even more shittier": EGDF president Hendrik Lesser talks tough
The European Games Developer Federation's president spells out his thoughts and confidence in a comeback in an open letter
Extreme Expenses
Thunderful lost $59 million in 2023 after Q4 profit fell 574%
Thunderful is laying off approximately 100 staff in the first half of 2024 to cut costs
Booted From Blizzard
136 jobs cut as Blizzard axes 68% of employees in Ireland
Blizzard’s Cork office employs around 200 people, roughly half of all its employees in the Republic of Ireland