Hitmarker Highlights

Hello there ??

2023 is just relentless. It's been another dark week for the video game industry, with huge layoffs and several significant cancellations making the headlines. ??

In summary, Epic Games has let go of approximately 830 employees, Naughty Dog is allegedly laying off contractors (and instructing employees to keep quiet), while Sega has cancelled one of its major releases, Hyenas, with layoffs now expected at Creative Assembly.

Nintendo has also announced that it will discontinue online services for the Wii U and 3DS, rendering all games unplayable online beginning in April 2024.

There is?some?good news, though, as Valve has finally released the full version of Counter-Strike 2, allowing all players to experience the classic shooter in all its Source 2 glory.

Plenty of companies are still hiring, too, thankfully, with some particularly hot internship opportunities appearing this week! ??

Looking for a different type of internship or something that requires a little more experience? There are currently over?1,700 open positions ?up for grabs on our platform. ??

???Epic Games lays off around 830 employees

• Epic has announced the layoff of approximately 830 employees to "reduce costs", with CEO Tim Sweeney stating that the company is "spending way more money" than it generates due to its focus on expanding the Fortnite ecosystem, despite the game bringing in far less revenue than it did at its peak.
• Sweeney also claims that despite "ongoing efforts to reduce costs" in other areas such as events and marketing, Epic is still "far short of financial sustainability," with the layoffs aiming to "stabilize" its finances. ??
• After Epic sold Bandcamp to Songtradr, roughly 250 employees were laid off, with most of SuperAwesome also being spun off. Mediatonic, the developer of Fall Guys, was reportedly also hit "very hard," but will not close its doors completely.

Other news ???

The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog is also reportedly letting go of contractors, with approximately 25 leaving the studio by the end of October. ??

Sega is expected to cut jobs at its subsidiary Creative Assembly, too, after cancelling looter shooter Hyenas to reduce its spending in Europe.

There's even some bad news from Nintendo, though nothing quite as devastating as layoffs, with the online services for the Wii U and 3DS shutting down next April.

On the brighter side, Counter-Strike 2 is finally here so we can all jump into a much prettier Dust 2.

??Sega cancels Creative Assembly’s FPS "Hyenas,” with layoffs expected

???Naughty Dog reportedly laying off contract developers

???Nintendo is shutting down online play for the Wii U and 3DS in April 2024

???Valve officially releases Counter-Strike 2

Here are a couple of highlights from our?LinkedIn ?and?X ?accounts this week:

With Marvel's Spider-Man 2 just around the corner, Insomniac Games has announced that its internship program is now open for applications. ??

All of the internships listed on our?LinkedIn ?post are remote-friendly for US citizens and, most importantly, paid.

Those who are willing to relocate to Burbank, CA, can also apply for the studio's?project management internship .

Don't worry if you don't live in the US, as there are?plenty of internships ?available around the globe right now too. ??

Even more remote gaming jobs! ??

This week's batch on?X ?includes positions at Apex Legends developer Respawn, the iconic Bungie, and even Netflix's newest game studio.

If you're looking for different sorts of remote opportunities, our platform has over?300 open positions ?listed right now.

The end ??

Thanks for reading, and we hope this week's negative news hasn't gotten you down too much. Hopefully, we'll be back with a much more cheerful newsletter next time. ???

Best wishes from us all,

Danny and the gang at Hitmarker ??