Don’t buy anything unless it’s from Indy devs.
Anytime companies like EA show all their games for sale, they are actually just showing you a graveyard of dead developers that they killed.
It’s the normal layoff cycle of new game development amplified by the Covid boom.
Why does the layoff cycle keep happening? Because developers are okay with it. They keep signing those contracts and not joining unions. And that’s their choice.
How many unions are there for game dev, and how successful are they in the industry?
My experience trying to join a Union in America makes me critical of this callout.
The main issue with video game development is it is many people’s dream job. They are willing to put up with anything to get the job; until they aren’t, and then the next crop of fresh faces are waiting in line to get their dream job. In that setting, a union won’t form as there is just too much competition among prospective hires, too many people not doing research into the industry, and too many people willing to work insane hours for no gain.
Acting and professional sports are dream jobs with plenty of fresh faces waiting in line and yet they have unions.
Actors and professional athletes both have an advantage: name recognition. There is only one Tom Holland, there is only one Michael Jordan. It doesn’t matter how many people are lined up, the industry cannot replace them 1-for-1. The same is not true of video game development. Think of the last video game you played, do you know the name of even a single developer that worked on it? Almost certainly not. That person will be replaced by one of thousands of people in line; Tom Holland cannot be. This gives actors and athletes significantly more bargaining power to affect change in the industry, such as forming unions.
There’s tons of recognition in game development as well. Notch? ConcernedApe? Peter Molyneux?
There’s tons of no-name actors and athletes to go with the big names as well.
