New data reveals California bore the brunt of gaming’s brutal 2025 job cuts. The state accounted for 54% of worldwide gaming layoffs and a staggering 71% of North American cuts, according to industry tracker Amir Satvat’s comprehensive analysis.
These numbers hit especially hard considering California houses only 25–30% of global game development jobs and 42% of North American positions. The disproportionate impact shows how the state’s concentration of major studios made it ground zero for the industry’s ongoing contraction.
The biggest cuts came from gaming’s biggest names. Microsoft slashed around 1,900 positions across Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax in January, with many losses hitting Activision’s Irvine headquarters. Riot Games cut 530 jobs from its Los Angeles offices the same month. Sony followed in February, eliminating 900 positions that affected multiple PlayStation studios across California.
Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, added another 670 layoffs to the pile in early 2024. When industry giants restructure, California feels it first and hardest.
The state’s expensive reality makes it an easy target for cost-cutting measures. Developer salaries, office rent, and operating expenses in California rank among the highest globally. Meanwhile, competing regions like Montreal, the UK, and Eastern Europe offer generous tax incentives and significantly lower costs.
The great California gaming exodus
Perhaps more telling than the layoff numbers is California’s shrinking role in new hiring. The state represented just 8% of global game industry hiring in 2024 and only 34% of North American hiring. Studios are clearly choosing to grow their teams elsewhere, even as they shrink their California presence.
The shift reflects broader changes in how games get made. Remote work normalized during the pandemic lets studios hire talent anywhere, often at location-adjusted salaries. Why pay San Francisco rates when you can get the same skills in Austin or Warsaw for less? The math becomes especially compelling when other regions throw in tax credits that California doesn’t match.
