Layoffs ripple in games

Behaviour Interactive has confirmed a new round of layoffs, and Microsoft Gaming is facing an unconfirmed rumor of cuts as high as 15%. (gamesindustry.biz) (invenglobal.com) Behaviour said on April 22 that it had “made the decision to part ways with some colleagues” after demand fell for its mobile and casual external-development work. The Montreal studio did not disclose how many workers were affected. (gamesindustry.biz) The Microsoft side is less settled. Inven Global reported on April 21 that an anonymous post on Blind, attributed to someone claiming to work at Activision Blizzard, said Microsoft Gaming could cut 15% of staff in May or June, but Microsoft had not confirmed any such plan. (invenglobal.com) That distinction matters because one company has acknowledged redundancies and the other is still the subject of rumor. As of April 23, the concrete number in circulation is the reported 15% figure tied to Microsoft Gaming, while Behaviour’s total remains undisclosed. (gamesindustry.biz) (invenglobal.com) The backdrop is an industry that has kept cutting into 2026. GamesIndustry.biz’s roundup shows layoffs or closures this spring at studios tied to Ubisoft, Epic, Sony, Crystal Dynamics, Polyarc, Iron Galaxy, and others. (gamesindustry.biz) (gamedeveloper.com) The latest Game Developers Conference survey, published January 29, found 17% of respondents had been laid off in the previous 12 months, up from 11% a year earlier. It also found game designers, including narrative designers, were the most affected category, with 20% reporting job losses. (gamesindustry.biz) A separate Skillsearch survey of more than 1,000 industry workers found 44% had considered leaving games because of layoffs. Among people who had already been laid off, only 27% said they felt secure in their new roles. (thegamer.com) At Behaviour, the cuts come one month after the company bought The Fun Pimps, the Texas studio behind *7 Days to Die*. The company said the layoffs were tied to weaker demand in client work, not to its core *Dead by Daylight* business. (gamesindustry.biz 1) (gamesindustry.biz 2) At Microsoft, the rumor lands after the company told investors that its More Personal Computing segment was dragged down by gaming revenue in fiscal 2026’s second quarter, and that operating income included impairment charges in its gaming business. Those are not layoff announcements, but they put pressure on a division already under scrutiny. (microsoft.com) For now, the clearest line is simple: Behaviour’s layoffs are real, Microsoft Gaming’s reported 15% cut is still unverified, and game workers across design and narrative roles are watching both stories closely. (gamesindustry.biz) (invenglobal.com) (gamesindustry.biz)