Defying rosy forecasts, the game industry has seen 32 layoffs totaling 2,015 roles affected so far in 2026, according to game jobs champion Amir Satvat.
That layoff number is higher than Satvat’s early forecast and higher than he had hoped to see coming into 2026, Satvat said in a post on LinkedIn.
Looking at the regional distribution to understand where impact is landing, cuts are still heavily weighted towards the West in 2026, Satvat said.
He noted:
• 51% of layoffs have been in North America
• 25% in Europe
• 76% in North America or Europe combined
Within North America, 45% of layoffs have been in California. California represents 23% of global layoffs so far this year. That is still high, but lower than the share we saw during much of the past two years. In 2025, for instance, California accounted for 47% of all layoffs globally.
“Because January came in heavier than expected, I have updated the forward forecast,” Satvat said. “Based on both bottom up tracking and trend modeling, the current projection for the rest of 2026 is 8,123 additional layoffs, bringing the total projected for the year to 10,138.”
He added, “If that holds, 2026 would land somewhere between what we experienced in 2023 (10,500) and in 2025 (9,197).”
Satvat said he want to be clear about two things. First, it is still very early in the year. January is often lumpy, and the pace can change meaningfully as the year unfolds.
“Second, behind every number is a person, a family, and years of effort and care put into our industry. Every layoff is one layoff too many,” he said.