As the video game industry lays off more developers, faculty and students have voiced their concerns over how common layoffs have become.

In 2023, gaming site Kotaku reported that over 6,000 developers had been laid off since January. In 2024, the gaming industry may be on track to surpass that, with companies such as Unity Software and Microsoft laying off more than 1,000 employees, according to IGN and The Verge. According to Kotaku, 6,497 people have been laid off since Feb. 7. 

As the layoffs continue to progress, it has raised concerns among some students hoping to work in the game industry.

“It almost makes me not want to go into this field in general, even though this is kind of my dream,” said Zach Ault, a freshman animation game design major. “It’s a bit terrifying.”

According to NCESC, the average cost of a AAA game can range within several million dollars for development costs. The correlation between the development costs and price are also relevant, as the average price for a AAA game jumped from $60 to $70 recently. 

Depending on how much a game sells, it can affect how much a company makes off that video game. Because AAA games are developed with a large budget and marketing, it can affect whether a company is making a profit or losing money.

Ault also spoke on what he thought about the situation.

“Major corporations are gonna have advantages and disadvantages and see that, ‘Oh this is making me money, this isn’t, I should not do the thing that’s not making me money.’”

Enrico Gandolfi, an associate professor in educational technology, spoke about the AAA model that video games have begun to follow and how development costs of a more complex game could have an effect on layoffs.

“They are very demanding in terms of human resources,” Gandolfi said. “Means that you have to spend are not feasible, not sustainable anymore, because then you have to sell I don’t know how many copies, and usually the market is not reacting that way anymore.”

Despite the condition of the industry itself, Ault said he is not giving up and hitting restart.

“If someone I know, or even me, gets laid off, I hope that there’s a way back from it,” Ault said. “Hopefully there’s some kind of return to the industry.”