GamesIndustry.biz: Tens of thousands of games jobs lost, HR left to manage morale
GG Brief Editorial Desk · AI-assisted, source attributed
GamesIndustry.biz reports tens of thousands of jobs have been lost across the games industry, leaving HR teams to handle redundancies and the morale of remaining staff. The publisher says the scale of those losses is difficult to quantify and that the situation has been demoralising for people still working in games. GamesIndustry.biz says HR experts were interviewed for a feature and that the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on October 1, 2026 will address how to care for staff and for HR professionals themselves. The article frames much of the burden for dealing with both redundancies and morale as falling to HR departments.
- What happened: GamesIndustry.biz reports tens of thousands of jobs have been lost across the games industry, and HR departments are being tasked with managing redundancies and staff morale.
- Why it matters: The publisher says the downsizing affects not only those who lost livelihoods but also remaining employees, creating a demoralising work environment.
- Context: GamesIndustry.biz published the feature on Sept. 18, 2026, and says it interviewed HR experts (including Emma Smith) ahead of the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on October 1, 2026.
- What next: GamesIndustry.biz says the HR Summit on October 1, 2026 will discuss how to care for staff and for HR professionals; the article does not confirm specific measures or outcomes.
What changed
GamesIndustry.biz reports that, over the past few years, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost across the games industry. The publisher says this wave of closures and layoffs has left remaining employees demoralised and that HR teams are carrying much of the responsibility for handling redundancies and maintaining morale.
Timeline
- Sept. 18, 2026: GamesIndustry.biz published the feature discussing layoffs and morale.
- Oct. 1, 2026: GamesIndustry.biz says it will host an HR Summit where experts will discuss caring for staff and HR professionals.
Limits
- GamesIndustry.biz states the total number of people affected is impossible to calculate from the available information; exact job-loss figures are not provided in the article excerpt.
- The article reports that experts were interviewed for the feature but does not, in the supplied excerpt, detail specific HR strategies, policies, or confirmed outcomes from the upcoming summit.