The Evolution of the Gaming Industry Labor Market
The global gaming industry has seen rapid expansion in recent years, surpassing Hollywood in the entertainment industry and staring down the barrel of a projected market valuation of $266 billion by 2028, while growing at a 5% CAGR (BCG).
While a lot of the growth was seen during the CoVID-19 pandemic, the strong growth for the gaming industry was long expected. The post-pandemic period has proven quite challenging for the gaming industry labor market. While on one hand, the number of takers for gaming has come down, on the other hand, studios and publishers have also overhired and have put themselves in an unsustainable position.
All is not doom and gloom though. In 2024 alone, the industry reached a value of $221.24 billion (GlobeNewswire), driven by an expanding player base and advancements in immersive technologies. As gaming continues to redefine entertainment, labor market trends in this space are shifting dramatically.
Let’s take a deeper look at some of the labor market trends in the gaming industry in 2024 and dive deeper into what we can expect going forward.
Key Labor Market Trends in the Gaming Industry
1. Rising Demand for Skilled Professionals
The demand for gaming professionals remains high, with over 109,000 gaming jobs posted in 2024, reflecting sustained hiring needs in game development, design, and engineering (JobsPikr).
The rise of VR, AR, and AI-driven experiences has further increased demand for specialized talent in machine learning, procedural content generation, and cloud gaming. According to a report by Newzoo, the XR (extended reality) gaming market alone is expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2025, highlighting the need for developers skilled in immersive technologies.
2. Expanding Roles Beyond Development
While game developers and engineers remain central to the industry, there is a growing labor market trends curated by JobsPikr shows demand for roles in marketing, customer support, design, direction and more.
The eSports market is expected to grow to $3.5 billion by 2025 (Newzoo), fueling the need for specialists who can engage players and audiences beyond the gameplay experience.
3. Industry-Wide Layoffs
An additional labor market trend, according to various sources, 2024 saw nearly 14,600 layoffs across game development studios and publishers, with over a third of the layoffs happening in January 2024 alone. Rising development costs, a weakening market in a post-pandemic world, changes in consumer preferences as well as several factors have been cited as reasons.
According to the 2024 Big Games Industry Employment Survey, HR, Recruiters, QA and Artists were the most likely to be laid off. Localization and Sound Specialists, Artists, QA, and Project Managers also reported feeling vulnerable.
4. The Ebbing Tide of AI
AI is also playing an increasingly transformative role in the gaming industry. For instance, as early as 2023, Activision began to use generative AI models to create concept art, user surveys and marketing material (source).
What’s more, in a report published by CVL Economics, nearly 90% of the gaming companies they surveyed reported the use of generative AI for various purposes.
According to Technavio, the AI in games market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 42.3% between 2024 and 2029, increasing in valuation by $27.47 billion.
The Future of Gaming Jobs
The future of gaming employment looks promising, with investors and analysts confident that the industry will recover in the near future, particularly with the release of several big titles like Grand Theft Auto VI, as well as the release of new consoles like the Switch successor, by Nintendo.
Analyst Matt Piscatella, in an article published by GamesIndustry.biz, expressed optimism for 2025. PwC, in fact, predicts that the gaming industry is expected to reach a value of $321 billion by 2026.
It’s also equally important to note that there’s a burgeoning unionization movement in the works. One the one hand Polygon noted that the systemic issues in the gaming industry cannot be expected to be fixed voluntarily. On the other hand, Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, noted in a company email that they’d been spending more money than they earned for a while.” (Source).
Unionization would not only mean better bargaining power for employees, but also an avenue towards better working conditions, pay and benefits.
Unlock More Insights
While the information we’ve covered so far comes from in-depth research by analysts and journalists from around the world, a weapon in your arsenal should be labor market data. Take a deeper look at who was hiring in 2024, who they were looking for, and more via our report here.
JobsPikr provides AI-driven labor market trends that enables HR tech providers, talent intelligence firms, and workforce analysts to access real-time trends and insights. Leveraging JobsPikr gives businesses access to structured job market intelligence, workforce trends, and hiring analytics.
Why choose JobsPikr:
- Keep an eye on your competition: JobsPikr curates data from over 80,000 sources. No matter who your competitors are and where they’re hiring, you’ll be the first to know.
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- Identify skill gaps: Ensure you have a workforce that’s at the cutting edge. Identify what skills are in demand today.
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