The Year of Cuts: 11,000 Game Jobs Lost and the Studios Gone in 2026

On January 13, 2026, the people who made Marvel's Deadpool VR found out their studio was closing. The game had been out for barely two months. It was an early sign of the year to come. Ten months later, the list of closed or shrinking studios includes some of the most respected names in the business.

By October 20, 2026, the ASGC Games Industry Layoffs Tracker had counted 10,977 job losses across 148 separate layoff events this year. About 64% of the losses were in North America and about 32% in Europe. The five largest events alone accounted for roughly 49% of the total. The tracker's year-end projection is 13,077, which would make 2026 the second-worst year it has recorded.

The numbers behind the headlines

Layoff counts are always estimates. Companies often do not publish exact numbers, and trackers rely on announcements, regulatory filings and reporting. But the trend lines are clear enough.

By the numbers (ASGC tracker):

• 2022: about 8,500 jobs lost
• 2023: about 10,500
• 2024: 15,631, the highest year on record
• 2025: 9,197
• 2026 to October 20: 10,977, projected to reach about 13,077 by December

After a quieter 2025, the cuts came back. And unlike 2023 and 2024, when many layoffs were blamed on over-hiring during the pandemic boom, the reasons in 2026 have been more varied: weaker engagement in big live games, expensive debt after a buyout, and platform holders deciding they no longer want to subsidise parts of their business.

Winter: VR and mobile first

The year opened with Meta. On January 13, it closed three of its VR game studios: Armature, which brought Resident Evil 4 to Quest in 2021; Sanzaru, known for Asgard's Wrath; and Twisted Pixel, which had released Marvel's Deadpool VR in November 2025. The VR fitness app Supernatural stopped receiving new content, though it stays online for existing users.

A day later, Israeli mobile publisher Playtika said it would cut 15% of its workforce, about 500 people. CEO Robert Antokol explained that "the economic reality of the industry has changed."

Ubisoft was cutting too. Its Halifax studio closed in January, and on January 21 the company unveiled a reorganisation into five "creative houses", cancelled six games, delayed seven more and confirmed the closure of its Stockholm studio. (We cover the full reset in our Ubisoft story.)

On February 19, Sony shut Bluepoint Games, the Austin studio behind the Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus remakes. About 70 people lost their jobs after what PlayStation called "a recent business review." (Bluepoint's story.)

Spring and summer: Fortnite blinks, Xbox shakes

The biggest single cut of the first half came from a company many assumed was untouchable. On March 24, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney told staff that more than 1,000 employees were being laid off. He blamed a downturn in Fortnite engagement that began in 2025 and said Epic had been spending significantly more than it earned. "I'm sorry we're here again," he wrote, a reference to Epic's 830 layoffs in 2023. (Epic's story.)

The same month, EA confirmed layoffs at Criterion, DICE, Motive and Ripple Effect, the four studios that worked on Battlefield 6, the biggest launch in that franchise's history.

On June 25, Bungie cut about 292 jobs at its Bellevue headquarters, mostly on the Destiny team, weeks after Destiny 2's final content update. (Bungie's story.)

Then came the biggest event of the year. On July 6, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced about 3,200 job cuts through the fiscal year, roughly 20% of the Xbox workforce, with about 1,600 happening that day. Double Fine and Compulsion Games left to become independent; Ninja Theory and Undead Labs were put up for new ownership; and Arkane began a consultation in France. A second round on September 22 cut 268 more jobs, and Xbox started consulting on closing Ninja Theory after two sale agreements fell through. (Our long read on the Xbox reset has the details.)

Ubisoft kept trimming as well. Its July update confirmed the closure of its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and a restructuring in Barcelona.

Autumn: the end of BioWare

On October 21, EA announced about 400 job cuts, around 3% of its workforce, and the closure of BioWare. The next Mass Effect, in early development, was cancelled. It was EA's first major restructuring since its $55 billion buyout closed in August. (BioWare's story.)

The autumn list kept growing:

• Supermassive Games, the Until Dawn studio, reportedly cut more than 70 staff in October.
• Sucker Punch, maker of Ghost of Yotei, laid off 24 people while reviewing staffing for its next project.
• DON'T NOD announced a restructuring that could affect up to 85 jobs in France.
• At Arkane Lyon, about 217 positions remain at risk while Microsoft weighs its options.

Why so many cuts?

There is no single cause, but four themes run through 2026:

1. Live-game fatigue. Fortnite and Destiny 2 are among the biggest live games ever made. When their engagement fell, so did the headcount behind them. 2. Debt. EA took on roughly $20 billion of debt in its buyout and told lenders it wants about $700 million in annual savings. 3. Profit over reach. Xbox said its business was "not healthy" and is reorganising around margins rather than scale. 4. Hardware cycles. Sweeney pointed to console sales running behind the previous generation, and both Sony and Microsoft reported falling hardware revenue this year.

The trackers also miss a lot. They count announced layoffs, not the contractors whose work quietly ends or the jobs that are never filled. Ubisoft froze recruitment as part of its January plan. Xbox told staff it would cut vendor spending by half, which lands mostly on outside studios and service companies. Epic found more than $500 million in savings beyond its layoffs, partly by closing open roles. None of that shows up in the 10,977 figure, which means the real squeeze on game work in 2026 is larger than any single number can show.

Why it matters

Each number on a tracker is a person, and each closed studio is a body of knowledge that does not come back. Bluepoint spent two decades becoming one of the most respected remake studios in the business. Ninja Theory built its own way of telling stories about mental health. When they close, the skills scatter.

There are glimmers of renewal. Double Fine, Compulsion Games and Undead Labs are independent again (their story), and many laid-off veterans start new studios. But 2026 is a reminder that the games business can post record revenues and record layoffs in the same year.

What to watch

• Arkane's fate. Microsoft's extended consultation in France is the biggest unresolved case of the year.
• EA's next steps. The cost-cutting target is far larger than October's cuts.
• Xbox's final round. About a quarter of the 3,200 planned cuts were still to come as of September.
• The GTA VI effect. Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19. A huge launch could lift the whole console market, or simply pull spending away from everyone else.