Only 2024 brought one bad news after another for employees in the gaming industry. Developer and publisher Capcom, on the other hand, has good news: salary increases of up to 28% are planned.
What has happened recently in the gaming industry? Already 2023 was marked by major layoffs in the gaming industry. 2024 continued the trend. Meanwhile, there is even a dedicated English Wikipedia page just for the layoffs this year.
Here is a selection of the larger layoffs in January 2024
- Microsoft Gaming announced 1,900 staff cuts, including employees from the recently acquired Activision/Blizzard
- The engine manufacturer Unity let go of 1,800 people
- Riot Games let 530 people go
- At the communications service Discord, 170 employees had to leave the company
In February, more companies parted ways with employees. Here is just a selection:
- Sony closed its studio in London and laid off, including the closure, 900 people in February
- The publisher EA closed its studio Ridgeline Games, canceled a single-player Star Wars game from Respawn Entertainment, and laid off 670 employees
After all the sad news of layoffs, studio closures, and cutbacks, there is now good news.
One of Capcom’s most popular games is Monster Hunter World:
What is Capcom doing? In a press release, the developer and publisher Capcom states that they plan salary increases for their employees. In the fiscal year 2024, salaries are to be increased by an average of 5%. Additionally, there will be a bonus payment for all employees in April.
In the fiscal year 2025, Capcom intends to raise the monthly starting salary for new university graduates from the current 235,000 yen (approx. 1,444.08 €) to 300,000 yen (approx. 1,843.50 €) per year. This means that employees have 65,000 yen (399.43 €) more in their pockets each month – that’s about 27.66% more salary.
These changes come after Capcom already made various internal adjustments last year. Among other things, substantial investments were made in human resources.
It is nice to hear about salary increases and not further mass layoffs. By the way, one of the most popular Capcom games is currently available for €10 on Steam.
