With tens of thousands of jobs lost across industry in the past few years, to say this is a demoralising time to be working in video games would be something of an understatement.
It’s impossible to truly calculate how many lives have been affected by the studio closures and waves of layoffs we’ve seen, which have an impact not only on those who have lost their livelihood, but also on those who remain employed.
Much of the burden for handling both redundancies and staff morale during such situations falls to HR departments – something we will be discussing at the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on Thursday, October 1. Ahead of this event, we spoke to experts in this field to get a sense of how the industry’s downsizing has affected them.
Emma Smith, who spent 15 years handling HR at Creative Assembly before forming her own consultancy Hestia Talent Partners, suggests that not enough attention is being paid to those whose jobs have (for now) remained safe.
“We have quite rightly talked a lot about the people who have lost their jobs, but maybe not enough about the people who are still there,” she says. “There are people in the industry who have now been through two, three, or even more rounds of layoffs. They’ve watched so many people lose their jobs, seen projects cancelled and studios close, and in some cases spent many months wondering if they were going to be next. That has an impact. You can’t just announce that things are more stable now and expect everyone to feel safe again.
“That’s where studios have some work to do – not in trying to manufacture excitement or buzz, or tell people everything is going to be fine, but in actually rebuilding trust, which takes time. They need to be honest, do what they say they’re going to do, and treat people properly, particularly when things are difficult.”
A sense of safety
Michael Elliott Chan, head of people and operations at We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games, agrees, adding that he’s noticed a shift in employee conversations towards job security.
“At one point, we were in more of an employee-driven market, but things have shifted back toward employers, with fewer roles available and a greater need for stability in uncertain times,” he says.
“I’m also seeing employees take more precautions, whether that’s building a nest egg or strengthening their emergency funds. In personal conversations, I’ve heard more people thinking proactively about how they would navigate an unexpected downturn.”
Given that barely a day seems to go by without more layoffs and/or closures making headlines, how do you reassure your staff during such tense times? Chan says that while it seems like too big a problem to fathom, the emphasis for HR and leadership should be on “controlling the controllable.”
“Communicating intentions regularly is important because it helps people focus on what they can control: doing great work and supporting each other,” he says.
“Having an open-door policy and proactively checking in with people, especially those who may be less vocal, can also give you a much better sense of how the team is really feeling. When people start to lose motivation, they can sometimes be the first to go quiet. Making sure you’re listening to the collective voice of the team is incredibly important.”
“When people start to trust what they are hearing and experiencing again, motivation has something much more solid to build on”
Smith emphasises that this responsibility does not lie solely with HR: “Rebuilding trust after significant change is the responsibility of leaders across the studio, with HR there to support them.
“And I would probably focus on trust before motivation. People aren’t going to be reassured simply because someone tells them everything is going to be fine, particularly if they have been through repeated change. Reassurance comes from honesty, consistency, and following through on what you say you are going to do. If circumstances change, be honest about that, too. When people start to trust what they are hearing and experiencing again, motivation has something much more solid to build on.”
Staff development
Another factor that can help is ensuring the remaining staff are still about to develop their skills and progress in their careers. What better way to assure them about the future than by planning for it?
Smith adds that the industry needs to broaden its idea of what development and progression actually looks like for people.
“It isn’t always a training course, a promotion, or another rung on a career ladder,” she says. “It can be deepening the skills you already have, gaining experience adjacent to your discipline, working with another team, mentoring somebody, or taking ownership of something new. Particularly when organisations are flatter and there may be fewer opportunities for traditional promotion, there are still plenty of ways to help people grow.
“The important part for me is being honest about it. If there genuinely isn’t an opportunity for promotion at that point, don’t dress something else up as one. Have an open conversation about what development is available and what will genuinely help that person’s career.”
Again, Chan adds the need for communication. Folks are reading about changes across the games industry every day; if HR and leadership doesn’t get ahead of those conversations and address topics that may concern staff, it can hinder the trust you’re aiming to build.
“Show that you’re not afraid to have difficult conversations,” he says. “The alternative is that people can end up ruminating, suffering in silence, or unintentionally spreading fear by talking with their peers. Sometimes, a simple, transparent conversation from leadership that addresses the concerns people are hearing can provide a lot of peace of mind.”
Crucially, Chan says, having one-to-one conversations rather than relying on company-wide communications can be vital and demonstrate you’re leading with empathy.
“I know that can be time-consuming, especially after delivering difficult news, but it matters,” he says. “People are consuming so much content now that they can sometimes question whether there’s even a human behind it. When there’s already a fear of being treated like a cog in a machine, creating opportunities to connect face-to-face or through a more personal conversation can make a world of difference.”
The impact on HR
There is another group of people to consider in all this, and that’s the HR teams themselves. Smith observes that the turbulence felt across the industry has significantly affected both the volume and type of work HR departments have to handle, not to mention the emotional toll.
“HR people are human too, and in some cases they have been supporting people through redundancy processes while knowing their own role could be at risk, and still trying to handle that process with integrity and heart,” she says.
“The work has shifted as well. There has naturally been less space for some of the longer term, forward thinking work around culture and development, and much more reactive work around change. And it doesn’t stop when the restructure ends. There is then the work of helping to rebuild trust and culture amongst the people who remain.”
Ironically, HR folks can often forget the very support systems they are urging everyone else to use, with Smith emphasising: “EAPs [employee assistance programs], wellbeing benefits, professional networks, and trusted peers are there for HR people, too.
“There can be a tendency in HR to carry the emotional weight of everyone involved, and that isn’t sustainable”
“I also think it is important to keep a balanced mindset about what your role is. You can make sure a difficult process is handled fairly, compassionately, and with integrity, but you can’t remove the fact that it is difficult. There can be a tendency in HR to carry the emotional weight of everyone involved, and that isn’t sustainable.”
With no signs of slowdown when it comes to the ongoing layoffs, HR departments will continue to have their work cut out for them, and Chan once again stresses the importance of direct communication. As he puts it, the human part of human resources is key.
“In a changing landscape where people are receiving AI-generated communications, being bombarded with news of layoffs, and navigating a lot of uncertainty, anchoring the business in a people-first mindset is critical,” he says. “That means being proactive about listening, addressing concerns consistently, and creating real opportunities for connection.
“That could look like regular listening sessions, frequent team surveys, intentional in-person lunches, and making sure we’re still celebrating milestones and accomplishments so things don’t always feel so doom and gloom.
“People who make games are passionate about what they do, and I think it’s important to show that same level of passion toward the people who are creating them.”
Finally, Smith observes that times like these, in the midst of a crisis, can be far more telling about a company’s culture than when everything is going well.
“It’s very easy to talk about values when you’re growing, hiring, and everything is exciting and you have a good release roadmap,” she concludes. “It’s what you do when things are difficult and uncomfortable that tells people what your culture actually is.
“So maybe rather than talking about when games will get ‘back to the way it was’, we should be letting go of that, because frankly, it’s gone. We should ideally be thinking about what we’ve learned from the last six years and what we want our industry to really look like next.”
The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit is returning to London on October 1, with a focus on People & Leadership, and dedicated sessions on the future of people leadership and personal resilience for people professionals. Tickets are available here.