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- Nintendo has avoided layoffs over the past few years, except for contractors in America.
- The gaming giant believes retaining its core talent is more necessary than anything else, helping it avoid a poor situation.
- This is a stark contrast to every other company in the industry, which suffered massive job cuts in 2023 and 2024.
The gaming industry continues to navigate a challenging landscape as 2024 draws to a close. With nearly 25,000 layoffs over the last several months, developers and publishers have undergone multiple changes.
Gaming giants like EA, Ubisoft, PlayStation, and Xbox have also been impacted by the layoffs. However, one particular company seems to have weathered the storm spectacularly. Despite the prevalent threat of layoffs, Nintendo has escaped the last two years unscathed.
Why it matters: Nintendo has admitted that the cost of producing games has grown exponentially in recent years. As such, the gaming giant has been similarly impacted by these changes.
The likes of Embracer Group had it far worse than others, though job cuts were far too common. However, Nintendo is nowhere to be found on the list of giants impacted by job cuts. In fact, the company faced next to no layoffs in 2023 and 2024.
The following were the companies impacted most by this trend over the last two years:
- Embracer Group (7,890 employees)
- Unity Technologies (2,900 employees)
- Microsoft Gaming (2,880 employees)
- Sony (1,475 employees)
- EA (1,470 employees)
- Ubisoft (1,021 employees)
- Epic Games (870 employees)
- Take-Two Interactive (630 employees)
- Riot Games (562 employees)
- Sega (438 employees)
Nintendo of America did let go of 120 contractors earlier this year, with this move expected to enhance the company’s global development initiatives. Fortunately, this was the last time fans would hear about employees departing the Japanese gaming giant.
Since contractors are typically expected to leave a company at the end of their contractual period eventually, this situation is hardly comparable to the mass layoffs from other giants.
Perhaps the company avoided a similar fate as PlayStation or Xbox by following the late Satoru Iwata’s philosophy. For context, Iwata opted to cut his salary in half after the Wii U’s devastating failure in 2013 to avoid job cuts.
The former CEO was confident in his staff and believed in retaining talent over anything else. It seems his core ideas are still prevalent throughout the company, putting it above the competition when it comes to this subject.
It also helps that Nintendo has seen major successes like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. film recently. Elsewhere, the Switch continues to sell like hotcakes, ensuring a steady revenue stream for the company.
What are your thoughts on Nintendo’s ability to avoid layoffs this year? Let us know in the comments, and find more discussions on similar topics on the Tech4Gamers Forums.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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