TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Romero Games managed to scrape through an ugly 2025, but its founders remain unsure about where it's all headed.
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Things are not great in the videogame industry right now. It seems like no matter what you do—make a hit, make a flop, don't make anything at all—there's a good likelihood that you're going to end up out of work. For people who've been around long enough, it brings back memories of the game industry crash of the early 1980s, when the fledgling business suffered a massive contraction driven by oversaturation, external competition, and executive mismanagement. But industry veterans Brenda and John Romero, who were there for that very rough patch, told GamesIndustry that the current situation seems even worse.
"I feel like the industry's in a really horrible place," Brenda Romero said. "I mean, we were there in the '80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier. There are so few people that have not been affected, or their partner's affected, or they're worried about being affected. It's a really difficult time right now."
The Romeros themselves, and many of the employees at their Romero Games studio, were impacted by the game industry's slow-motion train wreck in 2025, when a new shooter the studio had in development lost its funding without warning. They managed to keep the studio open with a "micro team," as Brenda described it, and work on the game continues, although "it will not be what it was going to be."
2025 was indeed a bad year, but the game industry's problems go back much further. Layoffs have always been a problem in game dev, but the situation seemed to come to a head in 2023, when more than 16,000 people were let go as the Covid-driven boom wore off. But 2024 was another bloodbath, as was 2025, and 2026 isn't shaping up to be any better.
It's getting ugly on the consumer side too, as the relentless pursuit of AI has led to component shortages, skyrocketing prices, and the inevitable slide in sales. (Just today, in fact, Sony announced major price hikes to PlayStation 5 hardware due to "continued pressures in the global economic landscape.")
Where all of this is headed, and how it will be resolved, the Romeros—like the rest of us—do not know: John noted that Battlefield 6 was one of the biggest games of 2025, and Electronic Arts imposed sweeping layoffs among its development teams anyway. "I don't understand what...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Things are not great in the videogame industry right now. It seems like no matter what you do—make a hit, make a flop, don't make anything at all—there's a good likelihood that you're going to end up out of work. For people who've been around long enough, it brings back memories of the game industry crash of the early 1980s, when the fledgling business suffered a massive contraction driven by oversaturation, external competition, and executive mismanagement. But industry veterans Brenda and John Romero, who were there for that very rough patch, told GamesIndustry that the current situation seems even worse.
"I feel like the industry's in a really horrible place," Brenda Romero said. "I mean, we were there in the '80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier. There are so few people that have not been affected, or their partner's affected, or they're worried about being affected. It's a really difficult time right now."
The Romeros themselves, and many of the employees at their Romero Games studio, were impacted by the game industry's slow-motion train wreck in 2025, when a new shooter the studio had in development lost its funding without warning. They managed to keep the studio open with a "micro team," as Brenda described it, and work on the game continues, although "it will not be what it was going to be."
2025 was indeed a bad year, but the game industry's problems go back much further. Layoffs have always been a problem in game dev, but the situation seemed to come to a head in 2023, when more than 16,000 people were let go as the Covid-driven boom wore off. But 2024 was another bloodbath, as was 2025, and 2026 isn't shaping up to be any better.
It's getting ugly on the consumer side too, as the relentless pursuit of AI has led to component shortages, skyrocketing prices, and the inevitable slide in sales. (Just today, in fact, Sony announced major price hikes to PlayStation 5 hardware due to "continued pressures in the global economic landscape.")
Where all of this is headed, and how it will be resolved, the Romeros—like the rest of us—do not know: John noted that Battlefield 6 was one of the biggest games of 2025, and Electronic Arts imposed sweeping layoffs among its development teams anyway. "I don't understand what...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?