Why do Japanese studios suffer fewer layoffs? Because they have smaller teams and don't pay their execs $30m, says one expert
It's been a pretty grim year for video games. Aside from the "return of Xbox" new CEO Asha Sharma promised awhen taking over, which enacted the announcement of 3,200 layoffs and four studio departures , we've also seen mass layoffs in other studios, too: Bungie , EA , PUBG Productions , Take-Two , Warner Bros ., Epic , and many, many more have been impacted this year so far. Read more
The video games industry faced a challenging year, with major studios like Xbox announcing layoffs and studio closures. Japanese studios, however, have managed to maintain a healthier sector compared to their Western counterparts. Amir Satvat, who tracks game industry layoffs, has identified several key differences between how Japanese and Western studios operate.
Japanese studios tend to have smaller and leaner teams, avoiding the trend of large, live-service projects with hundreds of employees. The salaries of executives in Japan are also significantly lower than those in Western companies, typically ranging from two to three million dollars instead of the 30 million earned by executives like EA's Andrew Wilson and Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick.
The concentration of job losses in North America and Europe during 2022-2026 further highlights the disparities between Japanese and Western studios. Satvat notes that Japan's biggest studios have demonstrated resilience during the industry's challenges, attributing their success to smaller teams, reasonable executive payments, and a focus on specialized subjects rather than chasing trends. This approach appears to have contributed to the continued success of Capcom, Nintendo, and other Japanese gaming giants.
Written by urgent.news from Eurogamer's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
