With tens of thousands of roles eliminated across the global video game industry over the past few years, the current professional climate is, by any objective measure, deeply demoralizing. The "industry reset"—a phrase now synonymous with sweeping studio closures and mass redundancy waves—has left a permanent mark on the sector’s landscape. While the public headlines often focus on the sheer volume of lost livelihoods, the internal reality is far more complex. The ripple effects of these layoffs extend far beyond those who are let go, deeply impacting the survivors—those who remain within the studio walls, navigating an environment defined by uncertainty, anxiety, and a fundamental shift in workplace trust.
As the industry grapples with this ongoing instability, the immense burden of managing both the logistics of redundancy and the subsequent collapse of staff morale has fallen squarely onto the shoulders of Human Resources departments. These professionals find themselves in the eye of the storm, tasked with maintaining a semblance of corporate stability while dealing with their own professional and emotional pressures. Ahead of the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, scheduled for Thursday, October 1, we spoke with veteran HR experts to unpack the current state of industry downsizing and how leadership can better support the teams that remain.
The Overlooked Crisis of the "Survivors"
Emma Smith, a veteran of 15 years in HR at Creative Assembly who now leads her own consultancy, Hestia Talent Partners, argues that the industry’s focus has been dangerously skewed. While the attention paid to those who have lost their jobs is both necessary and appropriate, the long-term psychological health of the employees who remain has been largely sidelined.
"We have quite rightly talked a lot about the people who have lost their jobs, but maybe not enough about the people who are still there," Smith explains. She highlights the compounding trauma of the current era: "There are people in the industry who have now been through two, three, or even more rounds of layoffs. They’ve watched colleagues disappear, seen beloved projects cancelled, and witnessed studios close their doors. In some cases, they have spent many months wondering if they were going to be next. That has a lasting impact. You can’t just announce that things are more stable now and expect everyone to simply feel safe again."
For Smith, the path forward is not found in corporate buzzwords or hollow promises of future prosperity. Instead, studios must undergo a process of genuine trust-building. This, she notes, is a slow and deliberate endeavor. "Studios have work to do—not in trying to manufacture excitement or buzz, or telling people everything is going to be fine, but in actually rebuilding trust. They need to be honest, do what they say they are going to do, and treat people properly, particularly when things are difficult."
Cultivating a Sense of Safety in Uncertain Times
This sentiment is echoed by Michael Elliott Chan, head of people and operations at Compulsion Games. Having observed the industry’s tectonic shifts from the front lines, Chan notes a distinct change in the tenor of employee conversations. The dialogue has moved away from career ambition and toward the fundamental need for job security.
"At one point, we were in more of an employee-driven market, but things have shifted back toward employers, with fewer roles available and a greater need for stability in uncertain times," Chan observes. He has noticed employees adopting a more defensive, proactive posture regarding their personal finances. "I’m seeing employees take more precautions, whether that’s building a nest egg or strengthening their emergency funds. In personal conversations, I’ve heard more people thinking proactively about how they would navigate an unexpected downturn."
Given the relentless cycle of bad news, how can HR departments possibly offer reassurance? Chan suggests that while the macroeconomic forces affecting the industry are far beyond any single studio’s control, leadership must focus on "controlling the controllable."
"Communicating intentions regularly is important because it helps people focus on what they can control: doing great work and supporting each other," Chan says. He advocates for an "open-door" philosophy that prioritizes active listening, particularly for the quieter members of a team who may be internalizing their stress. "When people start to lose motivation, they can sometimes be the first to go quiet. Making sure you’re listening to the collective voice of the team is incredibly important."
Smith reinforces this by noting that responsibility for morale cannot be delegated solely to HR. It is an enterprise-wide requirement. "Rebuilding trust after significant change is the responsibility of leaders across the studio, with HR there to support them," she says. "And I would probably focus on trust before motivation. People aren’t going to be reassured simply because someone tells them everything is going to be fine. Reassurance comes from honesty, consistency, and following through on your word. If circumstances change, be honest about that, too. When people start to trust what they are hearing and experiencing again, motivation has something much more solid to build on."
Redefining Staff Development
A critical component of retaining talent and fostering morale is the ongoing professional development of staff. In an era of flatter organizations and restricted budgets, career progression often hits a wall. However, Smith suggests that the industry must broaden its definition of what growth looks like.
"It isn’t always a training course, a promotion, or another rung on a career ladder," Smith says. "It can be deepening the skills you already have, gaining experience adjacent to your discipline, working with another team, mentoring somebody, or taking ownership of something new. There are still plenty of ways to help people grow."
She emphasizes the importance of transparency in these conversations. "If there genuinely isn’t an opportunity for promotion at that point, don’t dress something else up as one. Have an open conversation about what development is available and what will genuinely help that person’s career."
Chan adds that leadership must be unafraid to tackle the "difficult conversations" head-on. In a digital age where employees are inundated with industry news, silence from leadership can be interpreted as negligence. "The alternative to open communication is that people end up ruminating, suffering in silence, or unintentionally spreading fear by talking with their peers," Chan notes. "Sometimes, a simple, transparent conversation from leadership that addresses the concerns people are hearing can provide a lot of peace of mind."
He stresses that personal, one-to-one connections are far more effective than mass company-wide emails. "People are consuming so much content now that they can sometimes question whether there’s even a human behind it. When there’s already a fear of being treated like a cog in a machine, creating opportunities to connect face-to-face or through a more personal conversation can make a world of difference."
The Toll on the HR Professionals Themselves
Finally, there is the often-overlooked group of HR professionals, who are tasked with delivering life-altering news while simultaneously navigating their own career risks. Smith points out the severe emotional toll of this work.
"HR people are human too, and in some cases they have been supporting people through redundancy processes while knowing their own role could be at risk, and still trying to handle that process with integrity and heart," she says. She urges her peers not to neglect the very support systems they advocate for others. "EAPs, wellbeing benefits, professional networks, and trusted peers are there for HR people, too."
Smith warns against the "savior complex" that can affect those in the profession. "There can be a tendency in HR to carry the emotional weight of everyone involved, and that isn’t sustainable. You can make sure a difficult process is handled fairly, compassionately, and with integrity, but you can’t remove the fact that it is difficult."
As the industry continues to evolve, Chan believes that the "human" aspect of Human Resources must remain the anchor. "In a changing landscape where people are receiving AI-generated communications, being bombarded with news of layoffs, and navigating a lot of uncertainty, anchoring the business in a people-first mindset is critical," he says. This includes listening sessions, team surveys, and celebrating small wins to break the monotony of the current crisis.
Ultimately, Smith believes these challenging years will serve as a definitive litmus test for studio culture. "It’s very easy to talk about values when you’re growing, hiring, and everything is exciting," she concludes. "It’s what you do when things are difficult and uncomfortable that tells people what your culture actually is. Perhaps we should be letting go of the idea of ‘getting back to normal.’ We should be thinking about what we’ve learned from the last six years and what we want our industry to really look like next."
The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit returns to London on October 1, focusing on People & Leadership, with dedicated sessions on the future of people management and personal resilience for professionals in the field.