The pandemic has affected almost every industry in the world and it has thrown more than 20 million Americans out of work. But almost all big video game companies are hiring, based on crowdsourced data from Candor, which negotiates salaries for tech workers. The company said that its data shows that there are 10 times more video game companies that are hiring than firing right now. Sledgehammer Games reported this week that it has more than 100 positions to fill.
Candor has been giving a real-time picture of the economy as it has been reporting what employees and job seekers are saying about whether firms are hiring, laying off workers, or freezing employment during the COVID-19 crisis. But video game companies are one of the few industries that have seen an uptick in demand as people who are sheltering in place spend more of their time playing games.
Candor reported that its crowdsourced data shows these firms (mostly in the U.S. but many are multinationals) are all hiring:
- 2K Games — hiring for both publishing and studios
- Activision — hiring
- Amazon Game Studios — hiring
- ArenaNet — hiring
- Atari — hiring
- Bandai Namco — Hiring in multiple departments (marketing, social, etc.)
- Beenox — hiring
- Behaviour Interactive — hiring
- Bethesda — hiring in game development
- Blizzard — hiring (hundreds of roles open)
- Bungie — hiring
- Discord — hiring
- Electronic Arts — hiring
- Epic Games – hiring
- Gameloft — hiring
- Google Stadia — select openings
- King — Hiring, internships cancelled
- Niantic –hiring
- Nintendo — hiring
- Oculus VR — hiring
- Razer — hiring
- Riot Games — hiring
- Roblox — hiring
- Rockstar — hiring
- Rovio Entertainment — hiring
- Sledgehammer Games — hiring
- Sony Playstation — hiring
- Take-Two — hiring
- Twitch — hiring
- Ubisoft — hiring
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment — selective hiring for games in full production
- Zynga — hiring