Why even make video games anymore? No, really. Why? We’ve hit another week andanother massive layoff, this time from a company that makes one of the biggest games on Earth,Destiny 2. Oh, and this followsthatvery same companylaying off one hundred people in 2023. As we’ve seen over the last couple years, even working for a well-regarded, legendary developer is not enough to save yourself.
And while we’re finally getting the sequels to series likeDragon Age, let’s not forgetBioWarealsofired one of its most experienced writers- a writer, it is worth noting, who literally created some of the most important lore of the series. So, again, why even make video games anymore?
The Love Of The Game Is No Longer A Good Reason
Oh, I know, I know, people make games because theylovethem, not because there’smoneyin it! First of all, you should tell that to the corporate executives who make these decisions because, buster,they are not on board with your theory. Those suits wouldneveraccept less pay or worse working conditions because it’s an industry they love. That’s only something the workers have to hear again and again and again. You thinkthe corporate executives who killed Tango Gameworksdid it because they just care about good video games so much? You think the massive conglomerates shuttering studio after studio are doing it so we can only get 10/10 masterpieces? Come on, folks.
Perhaps you believe that these unending layoffs are an economic necessity. “Interest rates have changed, companies over spent during the pandemic.” Sure. Fine. Let’s roll with that excuse. Follow-up question: who made those financial decisions during the pandemic? Because people talk about corporate financial decisions like they’re natural disasters and not something controlled by real humans.
So, again, who made the decisions that led to these problems? Was it the writers getting laid off? The musicians? Developers? Producers? Support staff?Noneof them made a poor financial decision? The business executives did? Wow. Okay. Wild. Now,whomakes the games that actually bring in the money? Is it those same business executives? Here’s a clue: no. But somehow the workers whomakethe games are the ones who get thrown off the side of the ship and that’s just the cost of doing business. “Those artists should’ve known better before taking a job at a company run by a person who will never suffer consequences!”
Now, I’m not sayingnobodyshould make games. I love games! A lot of my friends are in the industry. A lot of my friends have also lost jobs while creating financially successful products. Not just games that underperformed - games that hit their milestones but folks still ended up losing their jobs because they had little-to-no labor protections.
Side note, that’sone of the nice things about unions. While unions don’t make it impossible to fire people, at the very least they can make it a lot more difficult and expensive for companies to just dump staff to look good on a quarterly report. Because, let’s be honest, these corporate executiveslovefiring people as much as their social media managershatehaving to deal with all the ratio-ing online.
The Indie Scene Has Its Own Problems
You might say the solution is to just go indie. Sure, that’s worked great for a lot of people. It’s also workedterriblyfor a lot of people. Going indie is not easy. We have confirmation bias from games likeUndertaleandStardew Valley. ‘Just maintain a day job while you slowly make the game you want’ isn’t a sustainable business plan for everybody. Nor is ‘have a rich parent’. And, not for nothing, if you don’t own the indie company or only own a minority stake, there’s always the chance that they too become swallowed by a triple-A corporation and get stripped for parts. But at least you got a free Embracer Group shirt on the way out the door!
Why should people want to make games? What reason do talented people have to spend their lives perfecting their craft if they’re going to be kicked out the door anyway? Software engineers could probably make more money programming bank equipment. Artists could probably make more money doing design work for pharmaceutical ads. Sure, they might not be as exciting, but at least these jobs aren’t punishing hardworking people for doing what they love. Would you rather be bored and paid well and appreciated or excited and constantly terrified you’ll never work again? It’s a tough choice once you start having to put food in people’s mouths and think about your future.
To be fair, I’m painting with a pretty broad brush. And therearepeople who will stick around in terrible conditions because they love video games that much. And, yes, there are also companies that reward loyalty while rarely laying off employees. Most of them are bound by strict Japanese labor laws, but still. They do exist, including in the West. But I’ve worked in television most of my adult life and the vibe can often be the same as many game companies: “You don’t like this bad thing happening? Well, someone else waiting in line behind you would be fine with the bad thing happening.” It creates a revolving door of talent where the inexperienced people either get no support to do their job and so they get fired -ooooorrrr- their contributions to the company raise the employee’s value and so they get fired.
And I’m not even touching on thefun, fun, funtimes that video game workers have whenweirdos online get mad about some fictional character’s chin or a robot’s ass. Because video game workers are far closer to the ground than the business executives,they’rethe ones who get the most harassment for whatever grift takes center stage that week. I’m sure being a character designer is a blast every time some podcaster in his 50s sends people to attack them for not giving some digital broad perfect gazongas. Imagine this going onandmergers and acquisitions making the future of your career a giant, Riddler-sized question mark.
Seriously, why should talented people want to make games if this is how they’re going to be treated? Why should workers spend their lives learning a trade if half of the job involves having a panic attack when there’s an all hands meeting? Lots of people want to become doctors but most don’t want to work at a hospital that’s somehow in a perpetual state of burning down. At this point, the only people who are safe in the video game industry are CEOs who wear ill-fitting biker jackets and developers who seem to only take photos with Geoff Keighley.
We should be on our knees thanking our lucky stars thatanybodywith an ounce of sanity is willing to make a game anymore. In the last year alone this industry has chewed up and spit out so much incredible talent that it’s wild to think a reasonable person - let alone teams of incredible workers - would still be willing to develop interactive entertainment. Those folks shouldn’t consider themselves the ‘lucky ones’ who still have jobs and they shouldn’t be willing to take crap because someone is ‘in line’ behind them. They deserve protections and working conditions that reflect the quality of what they produce and the massive paydays they bring their corporate overlords. Making a video game should be the coolest thing someone gets to do with their life, not an eternal nightmare of crunch and unemployment.
Destiny 2
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