Japanese Game Industry Avoids Layoff Crisis, Says Expert
Industry expert Amir Satvat explains why Japanese game developers face fewer layoffs than Western studios, citing smaller teams, less focus on live-service
The wave of layoffs hitting Western game studios has largely spared their Japanese counterparts. According to industry expert Amir Satvat, this disparity stems from fundamental differences in business structure, team size, and executive compensation.
Smaller Teams and Different Trends
In an interview with Edge Magazine, Satvat highlighted key operational contrasts. Japanese development teams tend to be much smaller and leaner. They largely avoided the industry-wide rush toward massive live-service projects and blockbuster titles requiring teams of 500 people or more. This more conservative approach to scaling has provided greater stability.
Satvat praised the industry's commitment to staff retention. "Everyone calls out Nintendo, but you can look at Konami or Capcom-these companies all have staff retention of 97%+," he said. This culture prioritizes keeping employees even when it requires sacrificing short-term profits or executive pay.
The Executive Pay Divide
A major factor, according to Satvat, is executive compensation. While Japanese executives are well-paid, their salaries are an order of magnitude lower than those in the West. "They still make great money, but it’s two or three million dollars, not 30 million," Satvat noted. This reduces financial pressure to make drastic cuts for shareholder returns.
The analysis comes with caveats. Satvat acknowledged there have been mass layoffs at Japanese firms, though not on the scale seen in North America or Western Europe. He also did not address broader developer compensation. Separate data shows Japanese developers earn less on average than their Western peers.
A 2019 CEDEC report, discussed by consultant Serkan Koto, put the average salary for Japanese game developers at $37,000. For comparison, a 2025 GDC Salary Report survey of 500 professionals found an average pay of $142,000.
The Broader Industry Outlook
Satvat provided figures on the global industry's job growth and contraction. He estimates the sector creates 18,000 to 25,000 new jobs annually. However, this growth barely covers attrition and pales next to the boom of the late 2010s.
He projects 14,500 layoffs for 2026, contributing to a total of 58,000 job losses from 2022 through 2026. Over that same period, he estimates the industry will have grown by 32,000 to 67,000 new jobs. This compares poorly to the 150,000 new jobs added from 2017 to 2021.
Satvat offered a sobering long-term view. It is hard for me to foresee a picture where the industry doesn’t eventually contract from its current size, he told Edge. He suggested the best-case scenario might be stabilization at a level somewhat lower than the peak, rather than a return to the era of stable mega-studios.
