Another week, another round of tough news from the industry. Epic Games just laid off over 1,000 employees — a significant cut even for a company of their size. Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek didn’t hold back in his reaction, basically asking why anyone at Epic should still pour their heart into their work when the company can make these kinds of decisions despite not being publicly traded.
As a longtime gamer, this stuff hits me differently every time it happens - though I now seldom post or talk about it on my podcast.
From the consumer side, it feels discouraging. When I hear about mass layoffs at studios behind games I’ve appreciated for years, my first thought isn’t about stock prices or profit margins — it’s about the people and their families. The developers, artists, designers, and writers who poured countless late nights and passion into the experiences that meant something to me. Fortnite, Unreal Engine, all the side projects… those were built by real humans with families and dreams. Seeing that kind of uncertainty hit them year after year starts to wear on you. I remember where I was 6 years ago when I was search for some stability - It feels hopeless.
This isn’t isolated. Just in the past couple of months we’ve also seen notable cuts at Ubisoft’s Red Storm studio (over 100 jobs) and other studios making adjustments. Year over year, the public sentiment has grown more frustrated and cynical. GDC surveys show that roughly one in three U.S. developers has been laid off in the last two years. That kind of constant churn creates a heavy psychological weight across the entire community — players start wondering if the games we love are becoming less about creativity and more about cold business decisions.
From an industry perspective, it’s worrying. The psychology behind the growing frustration is real: when talented people keep getting shown the door even at profitable companies, it kills morale and makes it harder to attract and keep the best talent. Developers start asking themselves — why go all-in on a project if you could be cut loose once the numbers shift? That uncertainty ripples outward. It affects the quality and passion we feel in the final product, and over time, it chips away at trust between players and the companies we support.
The games we love — the ones that shaped our childhoods, gave us unforgettable moments with friends, or helped us through tough times — were made by amazing developers who poured their hearts and souls into these projects. That human element is what makes gaming special. When we see wave after wave of layoffs, it’s a reminder that the industry still hasn’t figured out how to protect the people who actually build the magic.
At the end of the day, I don’t like seeing this. None of us do. My hope is that everyone affected by these cuts bounces back quickly, finds new opportunities, and keeps creating. The passion that built the games we cherish doesn’t disappear overnight — it just needs a stable place to land.
What are your thoughts on all this?
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