Highlights
- Gaming layoffs in 2025 affected more than 100 companies, making this year ender 2025 a snapshot of industry-wide job cuts.
- Microsoft led the Top 10 Gaming Layoffs by Company in 2025, followed by Electronic Arts and Tencent-backed studios.
- Major gaming layoffs by company continued a multi-year trend seen in 2023 and 2024.
The global video game industry saw a sharp contraction in 2025, with layoffs reported across more than 100 companies worldwide by Nov. 30, 2025, based on studio-level disclosures tracked by Obsidian Tracker and aggregated reporting from Mike Straw Media, making this year ender 2025 a snapshot of major gaming layoffs by company and thousands of job cuts.
The figures are drawn from studio announcements, regulatory filings, LinkedIn disclosures, and reporting, forming the basis of this comprehensive gaming layoffs news coverage.
The layoffs spanned console, mobile, online, AR/VR, publishing, and support studios, cutting across nearly every major segment of the industry and underscoring how the 2025 game developer layoffs affected teams across the global games ecosystem.
SQUARE ENIX
2025’s Biggest Job Cuts: The Top 10 Gaming Layoffs by Company
10. NetEase Games
NetEase continued scaling back its overseas development operations in 2025, with layoffs and shutdowns affecting Jar of Sparks, Fantastic Pixel Castle Studio, Bad Brain Game Studios, NetEase Seattle, Jackalyptic Games, and other international teams.
Based on disclosed headcounts in publicly available reports, around 70 roles were affected, with additional NetEase-linked studios reporting layoffs without confirmed numbers.
9. Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony implemented targeted layoffs across PlayStation Studios during 2025, including at Bend Studio and PlayStation Studios Malaysia.
Publicly disclosed figures indicate that at least 85 roles were affected, based on confirmed studio-level reports, with additional Sony-linked reductions reported without disclosed headcounts. The cuts were tied to project cancellations and adjustments to Sony’s live-service strategy.
8. Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive reported layoffs across several subsidiaries in 2025, most notably at Cloud Chamber Studios and through the closure of Echtra Games in June. Based on publicly disclosed figures, approximately 140 roles were affected as the publisher narrowed its development pipeline.
Rockstar Games
7. Square Enix
Square Enix confirmed layoffs in November 2025 as part of a global restructuring. A Nov. 6, 2025, corporate disclosure indicated that around 150 roles were affected across publishing and development operations.
The reductions were part of a broader restructuring of Square Enix’s overseas operations, as the company consolidated development and publishing functions.
6. Amazon
Amazon Game Studios reduced headcount in late October 2025, with tracker data indicating that around 150 roles were affected. The cuts followed a reassessment of Amazon’s internal development slate, with reductions tied to canceled or deprioritized projects while publishing and platform efforts continued.
5. Embracer Group
Embracer Group’s multi-year restructuring continued in 2025, with layoffs reported across Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, PLAION, Black Shamrock, Thunderful-linked studios, and other subsidiaries.
Confirmed disclosures indicate more than 160 jobs were cut, with some studios experiencing multiple rounds, as Embracer worked to stabilize finances after its acquisition-driven expansion.
4. Warner Bros. Games
Warner Bros. Games saw one of the most concentrated layoff periods in 2025, with studio closures and workforce reductions at Monolith Productions, Player First Games, WB San Diego, and related teams resulting in approximately 275 job losses, based on confirmed studio-level disclosures tracked by Obsidian.
The cuts followed multiple project cancellations and a pullback from high-cost licensed development.
3. Tencent
Tencent-owned and Tencent-backed studios accounted for a notable share of gaming layoffs in 2025, with confirmed reductions reported at Sharkmob, Funcom, Hypixel Studios, Atomhawk Canada, and Sumo Digital.
Based on publicly disclosed data, studio-level figures in the dataset, aggregated layoffs total roughly 330 roles, largely driven by project cancellations, studio restructuring, and delayed or shelved live-service initiatives.
2. Electronic Arts (EA)
Electronic Arts (EA) carried out several rounds of layoffs across 2025, impacting publishing operations and studios, including Respawn Entertainment, Cliffhanger Games, EA Montreal, and BioWare.
Aggregated disclosures show approximately 485 roles were eliminated as EA canceled early-stage projects and concentrated resources on established franchises, live services, and sports titles.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft recorded the largest number of gaming layoffs in 2025, with cuts spanning Xbox, ZeniMax, and Activision Blizzard operations, and affecting King, ZeniMax Online, Blizzard Entertainment, Turn 10 Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Halo Studio, Bethesda Softworks, Rare, and other teams.
The Initiative was shut down entirely, and aggregated disclosures from July and subsequent rounds show that well around 666 roles were eliminated, based on confirmed studio-level disclosures, as Microsoft consolidated operations following the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Top 10 Gaming Layoffs by Company in 2025: What the Data Shows
Beyond the top ten, dozens of independent and mid-sized studios reported smaller layoffs, often affecting 5 to 30 employees but representing a large share of total staff. Studios including Heart Machine, Outerloop Games, Bithell Games, Aheartfulofgames, Stoic Studio, and Box Dragon were among those impacted.
Mobile developers faced sustained pressure from underperformance and rising user acquisition costs, affecting companies such as Playtika, Wooga, Rovio, MoonActive, and GamesKraft.
Console studios were hit by rising production budgets and longer development timelines, increasing the risk of cancellations when milestones slipped.
HEART MACHINE
Gaming Layoffs in 2025: Historical Patterns Show Layoffs Tied to Industry Shifts
The pattern of layoffs seen in 2025 broadly mirrors previous years and aligns with broader industry cycles, making this year ender 2025 consistent with trends the games industry has faced before. According to industry trackers like GamesGG and MatthewBall, more than 10.5K game-related jobs were lost in 2023, and an estimated 14.6K were cut in 2024, underscoring that multi-year workforce reductions are not unique to this year.
Layoffs in the sector have historically coincided with shifts in technology, business models, and project priorities, such as the transition from linear titles to live service models, and the rising cost of AAA development.
Rather than being attributable to a single company or decision, the 2025 cuts were spread across publishers, platform holders, and independent studios, with major reductions reported in North America, which accounted for more than 70% of layoffs (according to The Game Business).
As the industry moves forward, many developers who leave one role find positions in emerging studios, independent projects, or contract work, reflecting how the workforce continually reshapes in response to changing opportunities.
