Young game industry professionals at the ongoing 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco have expressed reservations about the future employment opportunities amid a changing landscape.
The 2025 GDC, one of the gaming industry's most influential events, runs from March 17 to 21 at the city's Moscone Center and has drawn some 30,000 attendees including representatives from major tech companies like Meta, Epic, and Netflix, alongside numerous independent game developers.
However, beneath the surface of fun and games, some attendees discussed the booming influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and growing concerns about job security within the industry.
A recent GDC survey of 3,000 developers revealed that one in ten had been laid off in the past year, and half of the developers are self-funding their games.
"I'm kind of nervous about getting into the industry. I'm not sure if there's a place for me. So it's just a lot of competition," said Tessa Breland, a visual effects artist at Mars Games.
Haley Hughes, a level designer at Mars Games, echoed the concern, citing recent industry layoffs.
"I have seen a bunch of cases of layoffs and studio closings and stuff like that. Marvel Rivals, that new MOBA or battle arena-type game, ended up closing their studio in Washington, and Ubisoft has closed a few studios, and you just see it happening a lot more this year than it has in previous years, so that's a little bit scary for somebody who's still in school and trying to get their foot into the door," she said. Another key issue at this year's GDC is the increasing use of generative AI in game development. While the GDC survey found that one in three developers are using AI to streamline their work, there is a growing sense of distrust.
Only 13 percent of developers believe generative AI is having a positive impact on the industry, down from 21 percent last year. Conversely, 30 percent believe it has had a negative impact, a 12-point increase from 2024. Key concerns among developers include the potential for copyright theft and the overall quality of AI-generated content.
2025 Game Developers Conference held in San Francisco amid industry layoffs
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya on Saturday co-chaired the sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue in Tokyo.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the meeting that since the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, bilateral trade has increased more than 300 times and has remained at a high level of 300 billion U.S. dollars for 15 consecutive years, with the accumulative bilateral investment reaching nearly 140 billion U.S. dollars.
The economic outcomes proved that China and Japan are partners, not rivals, Wang stressed.
Amid profound adjustments in the global economic landscape, rising unilateral protectionism, and setbacks to economic globalization, China and Japan, as major world economies, should establish a correct understanding of each other, demonstrate responsibilities, seek development with innovative thinking, add momentum to cooperation and mutual benefit, and reduce obstacles and differences, Wang said.
He called for efforts on four key areas of cooperation, including accelerating the transformation and upgrading of economic and trade cooperation, achieving strong partnerships for mutual success, addressing each other's concerns in a balanced manner, and strengthening regional and multilateral cooperation.
The two countries should uphold the tradition of promoting political relations through economic cooperation, expand dialogue and exchanges across all sectors to cultivate new growth drivers, Wang said.
Enterprises from both countries should be encouraged to collaborate in artificial intelligence, the digital economy, energy conservation, environmental protection, and green trade.
Cooperation in medical and elderly care industries will be further strengthened to foster the "silver economy."
The two countries should expand third-market cooperation to benefit the Global South, support each other in the successful hosting of the Osaka Expo and the China International Import Expo, while promoting regional cooperation, Wang said.
With a forward-looking approach, China and Japan should leverage the China-Japan economic partnership consultation mechanism to enhance government-business communication, expand market access and eliminate discriminatory restrictions.
The two sides will work to avoid the politicization of economic security in order to maintain stable and smooth industrial and supply chains.
Upholding Asian values, the two countries should advocate openness over isolation, and promote inclusiveness over exclusiveness, Wang noted.
Negotiations for the China-Japan-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement should be resumed and the process of establishing an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area should be advanced, according to Wang.
In conclusion, Wang said that the dialogue enhanced mutual understanding and confidence in cooperation.
At a time when unilateral protectionism is rampant, the dialogue has sent a strong signal in support of a free trade system, adherence to international trade rules, and alignment with economic globalization.
Both sides should further expand their horizons and explore new areas of cooperation to continuously enrich the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit, Wang said.
Officials from 15 government departments of both countries attended the meeting.
China, Japan hold sixth high-level economic dialogue
