With frequent layoffs in the Western gaming industry in recent years, Amir Satvat, Director of Business Development for Tencent Games in North America, suggested that relevant companies could refer to the team and employment models of Japanese game companies. This viewpoint subsequently sparked debate on Reddit, extending to discussions on team size, executive compensation, layoff systems, and working conditions.
Satvat also runs a support network that provides free job listings and career counseling for the gaming industry. He stated that while layoffs do occur in the Japanese gaming industry, they primarily affect contract employees based overseas, aiming to protect core personnel within Japan; the scale of layoffs is typically in the hundreds, not thousands.
He also cited Nintendo, Konami, and Capcom as examples, stating that these companies have employee retention rates exceeding 97%. In his view, Japanese development teams are generally smaller and more leanly staffed, and they are less likely to follow the live-service game trend or assemble teams of around 500 people for large projects.
Executive compensation is another difference Satvat highlighted. He noted that annual salaries for executives at Japanese game companies can reach $2 to $3 million, but not $30 million. For comparison, EA CEO Andrew Wilson's compensation for the previous fiscal year was $38,649,984, approximately 305 times the median employee pay at the company; Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa's total compensation for the same period was around $2 million.
Some users on Reddit agreed with strengthening layoff restrictions, believing that companies should take measures such as cutting executive pay before laying off employees. Others questioned whether small teams can remain operational due to employees taking on more responsibilities and working long hours; others mentioned difficulties in hiring permanent staff, phenomena like "madogiwazoku" (window-sitters) and "taishokubeya" (resignation rooms), suggesting that Japan's lower talent mobility also brings problems.
Satvat stated that between 2022 and 2026, the gaming industry saw over 58,000 job losses and the closure of hundreds of development studios, including traditional AAA studios; during the same period, there was a comparable increase in new employment. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney believes that industry changes will lead to some companies being eliminated or acquired, while new leaders will emerge, ultimately creating new winners and losers.