A new survey from games recruitment firm Skillsearch has found that 44% of games industry professionals have considered leaving the industry altogether as a direct result of ongoing redundancies. The findings reflect a sector still reeling from years of high-profile layoffs that have affected studios of every size, from indie teams to AAA giants.
The situation looks particularly grim in the UK. According to the same survey, 76% of UK-based respondents said they are or will be considering job hunting outside the games industry in 2026. That's a staggering figure that suggests a significant chunk of domestic talent may be eyeing the exit.
A talent drain in the making
The data points to a compounding problem: repeated rounds of layoffs aren't just costing companies their current workforce, they're eroding confidence in the industry as a stable career path. When nearly half of professionals are mentally weighing up a move to a different sector, the long-term pipeline of experienced talent takes a serious hit.
This matters beyond the individual hardship involved. Experienced developers, designers, producers, and engineers who exit the games space take years of institutional knowledge with them. Rebuilding that kind of expertise isn't a quick fix, and studios that ramp up hiring again after cutting deep may find the talent pool considerably shallower than before.
Context: the layoff wave isn't slowing
The industry has shed tens of thousands of jobs since 2022, with major publishers and developers across North America, Europe, and the UK announcing cuts. Studios that were aggressively expanding during the pandemic boom have since reversed course sharply, and workers have borne the brunt of that correction.
Skillsearch's survey adds a human dimension to the raw numbers - it's not just about who lost their job, but about how the sustained uncertainty is reshaping how professionals think about their futures in games. When three-quarters of UK respondents are actively or seriously thinking about jumping ship to another industry, that's a retention crisis alongside a jobs crisis.
Whether studios and publishers take that signal seriously - and respond with more sustainable hiring and job security practices - remains to be seen. For now, the data from Skillsearch suggests the industry is at real risk of losing a generation of talent it can't easily replace.
