Green shoots
If you follow the game industry, sometimes it’s hard to view the future with much optimism. Between January and May, there have been more than 10,000 layoffs, already trumping last year’s tally. The media sphere is shrinking, too, with sites shutting down and others being bought out, prompting further layoffs. Rising budgets at the top end are leading to dwindling profits, forcing publishers toward ever-safer bets or more exploitative monetisation. And discoverability is an ongoing problem for smaller teams, with more games than ever but fewer outlets to cover them.