Embracing the games industry’s state of calamity | Kaser Focus

I haven’t mentioned this to GamesBeat’s audience directly up to now, but earlier this year I began doing a daily (well, business days) video on TikTok reporting on the gaming news of the last 24 hours. It’s been fun, getting to cover small stories or breaking down the big news into quick, understandable bits of information — or at least, I try to. The reason I mention it now is because it’s gotten progressively harder to do as I’ve had to dedicate time to at least one video per week about layoff news, and this week’s story out of Embracer Group was the one that almost made me snap on camera out of despair.

Embracer said in its latest financial report that, in total, it’s laid off over 900 people as part of its restructuring. According to videogamelayoffs.com, this pushes the number of jobs lost in the industry to around 7,800. So many people losing their jobs in so many parts of the industry in less than a year is a disaster, particularly since the number of positions those laid off can fill is dwindling. And that’s just one company — I can say with no exaggeration (and video evidence) that we’ve had layoff news from various publishers and developers almost every week for the last several months.

Even if I know factually why these companies are laying off staff this year, it’s still devastating to watch the industry that I love let so many of its people down. The saddest part is that there’s no indication this will be the last round of layoffs — it’s probably not even going to be the last within Embracer Group. And this is happening in a year when the industry itself is giving us so many wonderful, well-made games to play. It’s been a year of Everest highs and Marianas lows, and it’s not even over.

I almost don’t have the heart for it, but here’s a small personal update: Now that the spigot of major games releases has slowed to a trickle, I’ll likely be taking time to go back and play games I’ve not yet had time for. This week, that’ll likely include Alan Wake II and the new Super Mario RPG remake, and possibly more Like a Dragon Gaiden. On a personal note, I wish everyone affected by the many, many layoffs nothing but the best and good luck on all their future endeavors.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Super Mario RPG
• Persona 5 Tactica
• Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR
• Spirittea
• Invincible Presents: Atom Eve
• Flashback 2
• Teardown
• Backpack Hero
• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin
• Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
• Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master
• KarmaZoo

New on subscription services:

• Coral Island (Xbox Game Pass)
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Prime Gaming)
• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (Prime Gaming)
• Arcana of Paradise —The Tower (GeForce Now)
• Blazing Sails: Pirate Battle Royale (GeForce Now)
• Disney Dreamlight Valley (GeForce Now)
• Hello Neighbor 2 (GeForce Now)
• Overcooked! 2 (GeForce Now)
• RoboCop: Rogue City (GeForce Now)
• Roboquest (GeForce Now)
• Rune Factory 4 Special (GeForce Now)
• Settlement Survival (GeForce Now)
• SOULVARS (GeForce Now)
• State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition (GeForce Now)
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero (GeForce Now)
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (GeForce Now)
• Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (GeForce Now)
• Downwell+ (Apple Arcade)