The Games Industry Is Done With Employees @BellularNews

Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

Games are getting more expensive, but the industry's answer looks grim: fewer permanent devs, more contractors, more outsourcing. That might save money on paper, but players are going to feel what gets lost.

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00:00 The Quiet Part Out Loud
01:03 Budgets Got Insane
04:32 Someone Pays For This
05:39 The Job Security Line
07:50 The Contractor Future
11:18 Great Games Need Stable Teams
15:30 What The Industry Forgot

Sources:
gamedeveloper.com/business/-we-ve-been-a-little-bit-too-romantic-ustwo-ceo-says-lowering-development-costs-is-now-paramount

bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-01-10/why-so-many-video-games-cost-so-much-to-make

https://bellular.games/game-dev-outsourcing-has-a-dark-side/

newsletter.hushcrasher.com/p/why-video-games-cost-so-much-to-make

gamedeveloper.com/business/-deprofessionalization-is-bad-for-video-games

gamedeveloper.com/business/-i-monument-valley-i-developer-ustwo-threatened-with-legal-action-over-union-busting

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$GTA Creators $200M Disaster: 93 Devs Just Went Public Click this link https://sponsr.is/bootdev_bellularnews and use my code BELLULARNEWS to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. Sponsored by Boot.Dev. 93 current and former developers at Leslie Benzies Build A Rocket Boy studio have published an open letter exposing mandatory overtime, botched layoffs, and management calling them family while wreaking havoc on their lives. Join us at http://bellular.games for early access content, 20 editions of Loading Screen a month and to support our team! Trying to find a sponsor? Heres our brands & deals: https://bellular.games/deals/ 00:00 93 Devs Just Went Nuclear 02:43 Worst Launch This Decade 04:32 Four Months of Hell 06:39 The Union Gets Involved 08:31 Legal Action Begins 09:54 How ZA/UM Won This Fight 11:25 What Management Fears Most Sources: https://bellular.games/mindseye-the-worst-game-of-2025/ https://bellular.games/we-place-a-closer-eye-on-the-split-between-how-these-teams-handle-layoffs/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/union-members-announce-legal-action-against-build-a-rocket-boy-over-layoffs https://www.gamesindustry.biz/with-the-waves-of-layoffs-the-way-that-people-are-overworked-everyone-agrees-that-there-is-a-systemic-problem https://www.gamesindustry.biz/after-layoffs-cancellations-and-controversy-zaum-uk-staff-unionise-as-the-workers-alliance https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/barb-open-letter/ https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/cheated-and-manipulated-mindseye-devs-eviscerate-studio-bosses-who-blamed-botched-launch-on-saboteurs-and-say-theyll-see-them-in-court-the-games-industry-is-not-the-wild-west-anymore/ https://bellular.games/disco-elysiums-fractured-successor-studios/ https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-za-um-will-lay-off-25-percent-of-staff-after-project-cancellation https://medium.com/@dora.klindzic/i-blew-the-whistle-on-workplace-abuses-at-za-um-in-return-za-um-tried-to-defame-me-7ea1eda847e0 https://www.gameworkers.co.uk/workers-at-za-um-announce-landmark-recognition-agreement/ https://bsky.app/profile/shevek.bsky.social/post/3m27jgeh3bs2z$

Weve Seen The Email: Theyre Absolutely Gutting Xbox