2024-09-14 11:13:09

Chris Deering does not attribute the recent layoffs across the games industry to corporate “greed”.

But he did have some advice for those who have lost their jobs, including suggested they should “drive an Uber” or “go to the beach for a year” until the job market picks up again.

Appearing on the My Perfect Console podcast, he discussed the industry layoffs with games writer Simon Parkins, saying: “I don’t think it’s fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greed.

“I always tried to minimise the speed with which we added staff because I always knew there would be a cycle and I didn’t want to end up having the same problems that Sony did in Electronics.”

Chris mentioned the recent Sony layoffs, and while he encouraged those who had lost their job to explore other avenues for the time being, he recommended they don’t quit the industry entirely.

He continued: “I think it’s probably very painful for the managers, but I don’t think that having skill in this area [of game dev] is going to be a lifetime of poverty or limitation.

“It’s still where the action is, and it’s like the pandemic but now you’re going to have to take a few … figure out how to get through it, drive an Uber or whatever, go off to find a cheap place to live and go to the beach for a year.

“But keep up with your news and keep up with it, because once you get off the train, it’s much harder.”

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