Japanese devs aren’t facing the same layoff crisis because their executives are paid an order of magnitude less, ’they didn’t get swept up in the live-service trend,’ and their teams are smaller, says industry expert
Japanese game developers have largely avoided the yearslong layoff crisis that has devastated Western studios, according to industry analyst Amir Satvat, a former Tencent Games business development director. The disparity stems from three structural differences: Japanese executives receive significantly lower compensation compared to Western counterparts, Japanese studios largely avoided the live-service game trend that dominated Western development, and Japanese teams operate at smaller scales.
The gaming industry’s layoff crisis has affected regions unevenly, sparking debate about whether the current situation parallels the infamous 1983 video game crash. Brenda Romero, who witnessed the ‘83 crash firsthand, believes the current crisis is comparable in severity, while Tim Cain argues the situations are not equivalent—though both bring historical perspective from having experienced the earlier collapse.
The analysis, published in Edge Magazine issue 428, highlights how cultural and structural differences in game development have provided Japanese studios with relative insulation from industry consolidation and unsustainable business models that have characterized recent Western industry upheaval.