If you work in games, or you were planning to break in before 2027, the top-line number is sobering: the industry could shed more than 14,000 roles by the end of 2026, according to figures published by ASGC founder Amir Satvat. But the more useful story for your career sits underneath that total. The cuts are not evenly distributed. Where your studio is headquartered now shapes your risk profile more than your job title does.

Break the data apart and a clearer picture emerges. The United States accounts for over 60% of recent gaming layoffs, and more than half of those domestic cuts are concentrated in California. Meanwhile, gaming employment across Asia-Pacific has grown by 10%, driven mainly by China. European headcount has stayed virtually flat. Step back even further and the framing shifts: since 2022, total employment across the industry has actually grown by close to 1%.

This is not a straightforward industry collapse. It is a geographic redistribution, and if you are a developer, technical artist, QA tester, producer or game designer, the practical question is whether your corner of the map is shrinking or growing.

What is actually happening to gaming jobs

ASGC founder Amir Satvat attributes the shift to studios exiting the United States because of higher labor costs, moving toward markets that offer government incentives and a larger pool of available specialists. The arithmetic is not subtle. When a senior engineer in California costs several times a comparable hire in Shanghai, Warsaw or Ho Chi Minh City, and foreign tax treatment is more favorable, org charts start to follow the money. California, which carries the largest share of US gaming employment, is absorbing more than half of the domestic cuts, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks comparable wage-cost divergence in its Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data, which shows that total compensation per hour for information-sector workers in California consistently runs well above the national average.

For workers, that translates into three distinct situations, and it is worth being clear-eyed about which one applies to you.

• You are in a US hub, especially California. You are in the center of the cuts. Retention is not the same thing as job security, and the odds of a second reduction round at the same studio within 12 to 18 months are real enough to plan around.
• You are in Europe. Headcount is broadly flat, which sounds reassuring but often means slower hiring, longer notice periods for posted roles, and pay rises that lag inflation.
• You are in Asia-Pacific, or open to relocating there. The market is expanding, but statutory protections, compensation norms and workplace culture can differ sharply from what US workers are accustomed to.

If you are being asked to relocate: the questions to ask before you say yes

A relocation offer to a lower-cost market often reads generously on the first slide (same title, comparable package) and far less generously once you dig into the details. Before you sign anything, work through these questions with the recruiter and, where possible, an accountant or employment attorney familiar with both jurisdictions.

• Gross to net. Ask for your projected take-home after income tax and mandatory contributions in the destination country. The gross figure alone conceals a lot, especially if you are moving from a state like Texas or Florida with no state income tax into a jurisdiction with higher combined rates.
• Notice period and severance. US workers generally have at-will employment, meaning no federally mandated severance. Some markets have shorter statutory notice and no redundancy pay by default. Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, employers with 100 or more employees must give 60 days advance notice of mass layoffs. If you are leaving that safety net behind, your contract should compensate.
• Employment status. Are you an employee of a local legal entity, or a contractor billing through an intermediary? The difference affects retirement contributions, sick pay, parental leave and wrongful termination rights. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), misclassification as an independent contractor can strip you of minimum-wage and overtime protections you would otherwise hold as an employee.
• Healthcare. This matters more for US-based workers than for almost anyone else relocating internationally. If you leave employer-sponsored coverage, you may be eligible to continue it temporarily under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985), which allows continuation for up to 18 months, though you pay the full premium yourself. Understand what the destination country's system covers before you let that option lapse.
• Currency risk. If you carry student loans, a mortgage or family obligations denominated in US dollars, a package paid in a foreign currency can quietly erode in real terms as exchange rates shift.
• Return terms. If the role ends within 12 months, does the employer cover repatriation costs, and does the visa allow you enough time in-country to find another position?

Running a thorough salary comparison between your current market and the destination is the fastest way to see whether a lateral move is actually a pay cut once you account for rent, taxes and health coverage. Salary benchmark data from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and WorldatWork's annual Salary Budget Survey both provide US-specific compensation baselines that you can use as a starting reference point before negotiating a relocation package.

If you are staying put and job-hunting

When headcount is contracting in your region, applying to the same 30 studios repeatedly is not a strategy. The stronger move is to widen your search in three directions at once.

Adjacent industries that use your skills. Engine programmers can move into simulation, defense contracting (defense primes spend heavily on real-time 3D), automotive human-machine interface work and architectural visualization. Technical artists transfer into film, extended reality (XR) and virtual production. Live-ops and monetization specialists are in demand in fintech and streaming. QA automation skills transfer to almost any software business. Producers with shipping experience are valuable anywhere a cross-functional team has to hit a hard deadline.

Remote-first employers based in growing regions. A number of Asia-Pacific studios, and Chinese publishers in particular, recruit senior talent remotely on Western-style contracts. Pay bands can be competitive precisely because the studio is trying to buy experience without asking anyone to relocate.

Smaller studios and self-publishing teams. Layoff waves at large publishers seed a lot of new small teams. They rarely match the salaries of FAANG-adjacent roles, but they often offer profit share, revenue share or equity that a large studio would not. Understand the vesting schedule and the waterfall structure before you treat that equity as real compensation.

If you have just been laid off

The first 72 hours matter more than the first 72 job applications. Before you update your resume, work through the paperwork you were just handed.

• Read everything carefully. Check your notice period, any accrued and unpaid vacation pay (California Labor Code requires that accrued vacation be paid out as wages at termination, making it one of the most protective states in this respect), bonus eligibility, and how vested equity or stock options are treated post-termination. Under the WARN Act, if your employer failed to provide the legally required 60-day notice for a qualifying mass layoff, you may have a claim for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days. That window to act is short.
• File for unemployment benefits immediately. In California, file with the California Employment Development Department (EDD). In New York, file with the New York Department of Labor. Federal law sets baseline eligibility standards, but benefit amounts and duration vary by state. Missing filing deadlines is a common and costly mistake.
• Do not sign the severance agreement on the first day. Severance agreements routinely include non-disparagement clauses, non-compete restrictions and limitations on references. Note that California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 generally makes non-compete clauses unenforceable in California, which is a meaningful protection if your studio is based there. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attempted a nationwide non-compete ban in April 2024, but that rule was struck down by a federal court in the Northern District of Texas in August 2024 and remains under appeal as of September 2026, so state law still governs outside California. Have an employment attorney review any agreement before you sign; a few hours of professional review can materially improve your runway.
• Update your professional presence before your emotions catch up. A composed, brief note indicating you are open to new opportunities lands better with recruiters than a post written in the immediate aftermath of the news.

How to read the geographic split when you compare offers

The overall gaming industry is roughly 1% larger by headcount than it was in 2022. That context is worth holding onto when the news cycle makes things sound catastrophic. What is happening is a rebalancing: capital and hiring are moving from the highest-cost US hubs, particularly California, toward markets where the total cost per developer is lower and where governments are actively attracting studios with incentive programs.

For your next offer, two numbers should sit side by side before you commit. First, your current total compensation (net after federal and state tax, adjusted for local cost of living). Second, the offered package on the same basis. If the role is in a region absorbing a disproportionate share of the cuts, factor in the probability of another restructure within 18 months. If it is in a region that is growing, weigh the weaker statutory protections against the upside, and anchor your decision on what the contract actually says rather than what a recruiter tells you verbally. BLS occupational employment and wage data for the information and entertainment sectors can serve as a useful cross-check when a quoted salary sounds either too high or too low for the role level.

The gaming industry is not contracting overall. It is relocating. Your most productive move right now is to map clearly whether that relocation is moving jobs toward your location or away from it, and to build your next 12 months around that honest answer rather than around the headline layoff count.