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After a studio layoff, start by defining the roles you can realistically target, then search employer career pages and game-industry resources, tailor your resume and portfolio, and ask trusted peers for feedback. The search can be difficult: in GDC’s 2026 State of the Game Industry survey, 28% of respondents—and 33% of US respondents—said they had been laid off in the previous two years. Nearly half of respondents who had experienced a layoff had not found another job. Those are survey findings, not a forecast of any one person’s prospects.
Set the boundaries of your search first
Before applying, write down what you need from a next role and what you can offer. This keeps a broad search manageable without assuming that everyone should pursue the same titles or relocate.
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- Roles: list the job titles that match your experience, plus adjacent roles you would genuinely consider.
- Evidence: note the skills, shipped work, responsibilities, and outcomes you can demonstrate for each role.
- Practical limits: record location and remote-work needs, work authorization, employment type, and minimum compensation or benefits requirements.
- Flexibility: decide which preferences are firm and which could change if the right opportunity appears.
For each opening, compare seniority and role fit, required skills, location eligibility, compensation and benefits, employment duration, and verifiable signals about the studio or project. If considering an event, include its travel and time costs. These are decision criteria, not guarantees of stability or rankings from industry organizations.
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Where to look for game development jobs
Start with employers’ own career pages
Identify studios and other employers that hire for your target roles, then check their career pages. Listings can change or close, so confirm that an opening is still available on the employer’s site before investing time in an application.
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Use game-specific listings and communities
The IGDA Career Center brings together job postings and career resources. IGDA also identifies Discord job-opportunities and looking-for-work channels, local chapters, and Special Interest Groups as places to find opportunities and professional connections. These can help you hear about openings or meet peers; participation does not guarantee a referral or job.
The IGDA Resource Consolidation Initiative aggregates resources for developers experiencing layoffs or advancing their careers. Treat any listing or community lead as a starting point, and verify the role and application details with the hiring organization.
Tailor your resume and portfolio to each role
Make it easy for a hiring team to see why your experience fits the specific opening. Put the most relevant work near the top rather than asking readers to infer your contribution from a long project history.
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- Emphasize responsibilities and skills that match the job description.
- For each project, state what you personally did; distinguish your contribution from the team’s overall work.
- Choose portfolio examples that demonstrate the target discipline and level of responsibility.
- Keep descriptions clear enough for someone outside your former studio to understand the problem, your approach, and the result.
Ask a trusted peer or mentor to review the materials before sending them. IGDA’s Career Center describes mentorship and resume or portfolio advice, while GDC Career Day has described resume, portfolio, and LinkedIn reviews. Availability and event programming can change, so confirm current details with the organizers.
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Use professional relationships respectfully
Tell former teammates and trusted contacts what roles you are seeking, the locations or work arrangements you can consider, and what kind of introduction would be useful. Ask for an introduction when it is appropriate; do not treat a contact’s help as an obligation. Professional groups, IGDA chapters, SIGs, and its listed Discord channels are additional ways to connect with people in the field.
Networking is one search channel, not a substitute for applying or proof that a role is available. IGDA’s FAQ recommends researching the field, choosing an area of interest, learning the required skills, and taking opportunities to work on games; it also notes that routes into the industry vary with location and networking access. See the IGDA FAQ for that guidance.
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Track applications and adjust based on what happens
Keep a simple log so you can see whether your search is reaching the right employers and where it is getting stuck. Record the role and studio, date, source or referral, materials sent, follow-up, and outcome.
- If you are not getting screening conversations, revisit role fit, seniority, and how clearly your resume and portfolio show relevant work. Ask someone familiar with the discipline to review them.
- If you are getting conversations but not progressing, note which requirements or examples come up and prepare clearer evidence for future interviews.
- Adjust the target list when openings do not fit your location, authorization, compensation needs, or experience.
There is no application count or follow-up schedule that guarantees a job. GDC’s 2025 US Game Development Salaries report found that 40% of unemployed respondents said they had submitted at least 100 applications; that describes those respondents, not a recommended quota.
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Consider adjacent roles and career events selectively
Depending on your skills, you may want to explore adjacent work beyond game studios. GDC Career Day has described programming that included studio and adjacent-industry recruiters, a Career Faire, portfolio and resume reviews, and career sessions for professionals affected by layoffs and others exploring opportunities. The program, dates, and access details may change; verify the current event information before planning around it. An adjacent sector is worth pursuing only if the role’s requirements and working conditions fit your experience and needs.
What the layoff figures do—and do not—tell you
GDC’s 2026 State of the Game Industry report draws on more than 2,300 industry professionals and reports that 28% of surveyed respondents had been laid off in the prior two years; among US respondents, the figure was 33%. GDC also says nearly half of respondents who had experienced layoffs had not found another job. These self-reported survey results describe respondents; they do not estimate an individual applicant’s chance of finding work.
For context, GDC’s 2025 State of the Game Industry survey reported that 11% of developers had been laid off in the previous year, with reported impact varying by role. The 2025 and 2026 figures use different time windows and should not be read as a direct year-over-year comparison without accounting for methodology and question wording. The GDC 2026 report summary states, “The effects of recent layoffs continue to spread across the industry.”
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