The Game Developers Conference surveyed developers worldwide and found that 34 percent lost a job in the past 24 months. U.S. developers faced steeper job losses at 39 percent.
The trend accelerates. The report notes layoff increases every time the question was asked over the past three years. Among roughly 900 respondents who lost jobs, 17 percent were laid off twice and 3 percent three or more times. Over 54 percent have not yet found another job. It took 15 percent of that group over six months to secure new work.
Of those who found employment, 9 percent moved outside the games industry. Four percent started their own studio or company.
Full-time employment for U.S. developers dropped to 50 percent, down 9 percent from the prior year. Unemployment stands at 21 percent among U.S. respondents.
Developer sentiment turned bleak. 51 percent strongly agreed they were concerned about their future in the industry. 73 percent at least slightly disagreed with being hopeful about where the industry is headed.
AI usage remains limited despite industry concerns. 60 percent of respondents do not use AI in their development work. Usage breaks down by game type: under one-third for indie and premium games, 58 percent for free-to-play games, and 70 percent for mobile-only games. 34 percent of companies discourage or prohibit AI use entirely. 56 percent see AI as having a negative impact on the industry.
Union support stayed high at 80 percent. Interest in joining unions fell because layoffs remain frequent and finding new jobs difficult.