A collision of trends
The layoffs hitting the gaming industry are largely the result of a handful of trends coalescing. The chief overarching issue comes down to publishers and developers overspending throughout 2021 and 2022.
There was a huge ramp-up in spending when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020,” explained Lewis Ward, IDC research director of gaming, eSports, and VR/AR.
“It was pretty much sustained through 2021, and I would say maybe the first half of 2022. Then things started to cool off.”
Companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Embracer Group spent lavishly on acquisitions, with Embracer snagging “Borderlands” developer Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3 billion in 2021 while Microsoft picked up “Call of Duty” publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion and Sony grabbed “Destiny” maker Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022.
In the early portion of the pandemic, worldwide gaming industry revenue skyrocketed as people stuck inside looked for ways to pass the time. According to IDC, mobile game revenue shot up 32.8% to $99.9 billion in 2020, while digital PC and Mac game spending jumped 7.4% to 35.6 billion. Home console game spending, meanwhile, soared 33.9% to $42.9 billion.