It"s no secret that the video game industry has suffered during the current recession. With studios closing at an alarming rate, analyst Wanda Meloni estimates that 8,450 video game redundancies have been made since July 2008.
Writing for Gamasutra, Meloni used data from the Game Developer Census 2008 report to predict that 75% of the cuts, some 6,300 jobs, were in North America alone. The rest of the redundancies came from studios throughout Europe and Asia.
Just recently, EA boss John Riccitiello cited the current economic downturn as a "blessing in disguise," claiming the recession would help rid the industry of the "riffraff." Whilst questions have been raised about the sustainability of video games during such difficult times, sales throughout the business have continued to strengthen. But despite improving figures, more and more studios are finding it difficult to survive, with Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms becoming the most recent victim.
Whilst the sheer number of job losses may only seem like bad news, Meloni is quick to remind everyone that a large number of "industry professionals" are still without work, urging the creation of new studios like Oceanhouse Media and Big Red Button Entertainment.