Christopher Mullin

Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

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Awful news today with Skydance Interactive having gone through a round of layoffs last week. My dear friend Scott Fine announced the news today, sharing the news and the profiles of those affected in a heartfelt post: https://lnkd.in/ex4BnyrX To those impacted please check out the following resources: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/epvmzDW6 You can find over 6,300 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #skydanceinteractive #layoffs

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More sad news about layoffs I'm afraid... Armor Games Studios reportedly have laid off their publishing team yesterday, though the current number of reductions is unclear, as is the reason for the layoffs. To those impacted by this, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI This resource contains around 1,400 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eH-yWEms ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 2,300 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eMYuN-zV 🕹 Quality Assurance This resource lists over 400 QA jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ecHRqMnN 📑 Game Production This resource lists around 390 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/erVSuNwi 📢 Marketing & Community This resource lists around 330 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eDmmXtP6 🎶 Audio and Sound Design This resource lists around 120 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e9vpruEY 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev This resource lists around 340 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eDeasJYj ⚙ IT This resource lists around 100 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eTpRYvy2 🎮 Game Design This resource lists around 660 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eXuJA9Vq 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #armorgamesstudios #layoffs

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Know anyone that might know someone? Asking for a friend 👀 https://lnkd.in/g44DSCP8 #'s for the #'s #TheMattBarney #VideoGames #GameJobs #GameDevJobs #Unreal #UnrealEngine #GameEngineer #PrincipalEngineer #RemoteJobs #RemoteEngineeringJobs #RemoteEngineer

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Complaining won't get you hired. Sending hundreds of applications without a reply sucks, I get it. And job hunting in game development is tough in 2024. But hear me out: No one hires out of pity. People hire because you show value. Instead of complaining about the market, focus on creating value for others: • Share common best practices • Contribute to professional topics • Create useful solutions or courses • Make a tutorial on a complex issue Or go a step further: prepare a list of recommendations for the company you want to join and send it with your CV (and also share it publicly). How so, you might ask? Do something for others for FREE? Yes, absolutely. It's called "content marketing." You create value upfront, become more recognizable, and gain a reputation. And then you get hired easily because you provided value upfront. If you're willing to spend hundreds of hours on interviews, spend some time creating value for others. It'll pay off in the long run.

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Bit late talking about this one but huge news coming from 343 Industries, both a re-brand to Halo Studios and confirmation that they are switching development to Unreal. 🗞️ This comes off the back of 343's struggles with development of Halo: Infinite. We've seen many other studios move away from their own engines to Unreal, notably CD Projekt Red! Are proprietary engines going out fashion? 🤔 For those who have worked on both proprietary engines and Unreal, what have you found to be the key advantages of working with Unreal? #gamedev #unreal #halo

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Don't want to bum you out but I know I'm not the only one who has noticed the same layoff cycle on LinkedIn over and over. I can tell your future... 1. Studio is shut down, all the devs become active on LinkedIn maybe for the first time in years and do their looking for work posts. People reach out with connections and support emojis. 2. The outpouring of thanks to the wonderful gamedev community. Amir Satvat and other full time LinkedIn influencers are tagged. 3. Nothing comes of all the LinkedIn support. Devs post frustration posts about how hard it is to be laid off and the injustice of the game industry. Many people will later delete these posts when they start to realize studios still aren't hiring them. 4. The reality step. Months pass and prominent veterans are still unemployed, let alone those "juniors" with a mere 5 years experience. At this point, people either give up and disappear, get a job and disappear (rare), or become a chronic disillusioned LinkedIn user. This last one either requires wearing a mask or ranting about capitalism more and more. 5. The laid off devs watch this cycle repeat for a whole swath of suffering people every couple weeks/days. And that's the step I've been on for a few months. But hey I've been working hard on my family and my solo projects. Magehunter coming soon, and AAA Simulator devlogs will be in production even sooner! Make art for yourself and those you love. Don't make my mistake - look for happiness outside this Microsoft product called LinkedIn.

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*narrator voice* The email did, in fact, get buried. ...I've said it once and I'll say it again: Spamming is not the way to get someone to respond to you. One follow up? Great. Two? Unnecessary. More? You are risking your reputation. I have a rule of thumb when I reach out to someone cold -- if I can't convince them to respond to me in my first or second message, I didn't do an effective enough job (or, they're just not interested / timing is off). So I stop and consider a different approach - typically months down the line. Drip messaging can and should be buried.

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Creating games is very difficult. And building games is challenging. The process of build requires to compile the code and all the data required in the game in a specific sequence involving many dependencies. As such monitoring the outcome is essential, but not sufficent. What if we were able to predict the outcome of a build ? What if we were able to decrease the required computing resources while increasing our iteration capability ? #Ubisoft #Ubisoftlaforge #innovation

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TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3

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Tip for publishing consideration submission to Midwest Games... tldr - Send info through our portal (https://lnkd.in/gWtKgpuU), not through email (or LI). I get that it's a little counter-intuitive...you might think you want to put your info right in front of the sourcing decision influencers' faces. But it's actually a disadvantage - especially those of you who are agents throwing multiple titles at us at once. The submission portal goes right to our database, and that database is there for a reason: to keep an organized and consistent record of all submissions in one place. I look through there all the time. I'm reminded of titles I may have overlooked or need to go back to consider as circumstances change all the time. We rarely, if ever, make immediate decisions or even quick deep review/consideration. Our factors for consideration shift regularly. I do not review your particular email regularly, or at some point even remember you sent one. I go to the database. Connection via other channels is good. Discussion about your game over other channels is good. But having your core game info in those channels is not good. Please use the submission portal!

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What to do if your game has low retention? I teamed up with Mykola Veremiev to make a decision tree for your game. If your game is struggling, ask these questions:  1. Is the FTUE completion rate high?   2. Are players engaged with the core loop?   3. Are paywalls causing drop-offs?   4. Are there difficulty spikes?   5. Is the player funnel strong?   6. Is the game technically stable?   7. Do players have clear long-term goals?   8. Are players pursuing those goals?   9. Is feedback on gameplay positive?   10. Does your team still believe in the vision?  Depending on the answers, you have 3 paths:  • 🔁 Iterate: Minor fixes can boost retention.   • ↩ Pivot: Core gameplay has potential but lacks depth.   • ☠ Kill: Systemic issues with no clear solution.  Use data to guide your decisions. Iterate, pivot, or cut your losses. And if your studio needs help testing or scaling the next game idea, feel free to DM Mykola!

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It's TONIGHT! 6:30 pm at the Northeastern University, we'll host our PVP Entertainment Guild Hilarious Improv Pitching Night! The video game industry is facing challenging times and the layoffs across the board are devastating, but our mission of sharing knowledge and empowering the community stands strong. That's why we decided to put a spin on it and host a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project where anyone can pitch a game project generated on the spot. That's it, no preparation necessary, no NDAs, and no pressure! Only laughs! Get tickets at our event page: https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I've been recently laid off and/or can't buy tickets? - DM me! We've got Industry Support tickets for those who want to join, but cannot afford them. What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. Do I have to pitch at the event? - No! You can come to just watch and learn, but we bet you'll have a lot of fun if you decide to pitch! #gamesindustry #event #comedy

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"Required: X titles shipped" I've been involved in a few conversations lately with aspiring or junior developers who are frustrated that so many job descriptions require shipped titles. It gets even more difficult when a JD requires specific types of games shipped. These job seekers become more infuriated to find out that a lot of recruiters or hiring managers don't really count their game jam titles or solo games as "shipped" for purposes of these roles. Why is that? What exactly are hiring managers looking for here? Does it even matter? To answer that last question first: yes. It matters. First off, let's be clear on a couple of things here. As a general rule, you shouldn't be seeing shipped title requirements in true entry level positions. In those cases, any experience is better than no experience, so you should call out your jam, student, or solo games whenever you don't have anything else to show (or just call them out anyway if you're still relatively new or you're particularly proud of something you've worked on or built). But the reason you see a lot of jobs asking for shipped titles is less about the end result and more about showing that you've got experience working in a particular environment. If I'm asking, it's because I want to know that you can work on a team in the first place. You've been through the process already and have gone through the reviews and planning sessions and discussions that you simply wouldn't get building a game on your own or even in a quick jam. I've been through this a lot, with games that shipped and those that unfortunately did not. I've seen it on tiny teams where we could fit everyone in a single room and the entire schedule took months to teams which numbered in the hundreds across continents with multiyear schedules and the differences are very real. I've seen how different it can be in having to ship a boxed game through first party submissions or maintaining a liveops MMO that only existed on PC or mobile. Different processes. Different tools. Different methodologies. Different scales. I know how rough the market is out there. I know it seems hopeless at times and utterly unfair. I know it can really hurt to find a role you think you're just perfect for but then you see they want "shipped titles" experience or you need to have "worked on AAA teams" or "must have liveops experience" and it just doesn't make sense. Your challenge is in trying to show how you have the skills without the direct experience, while also competing against others (potentially dozens of others) who already have both. I wish the process could be easier for you. At the least, I hope I've added some context from the other side of the table here.

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If you are jobless due to layoffs in the game industry, prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. I know there are a lot of breadwinners out there feeling like anything but a winner. They celebrate the wins of friends, but after a moment of joy, or short burst of motivation, the depression comes crashing down. “If they found a job, why can’t I?” Even though layoffs are slowing down, hiring takes much longer to catch up. There won’t be enough positions available for everyone who had broken in during the big swell of Covid and VR/AR and Web3 hypetrains for a long time. Maybe not until the next bubble. Take a job in other industries to keep your finances balanced. Keep applying, work on jams or side projects on the weekends, but Do Not martyr yourself or your family for a “Games or Die” mentality. And no matter what - Suicide is not an option. That’s the only true failure. Everything else you can come back from. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please talk to someone. If it’s easier to admit what you’re thinking about doing to a stranger, then call a suicide hotline (1-800-273-8255). If you’d rather talk to someone close, then talk to someone who cares about you. A spouse, a parent, a friend, the former boss you loved working for. Tell them how bad things have gotten. Ask them to remind you of good times and things to look forward to in the future. A future made better with you in it. The game industry will bounce back, but for many it will still be an impenetrable wall. Don’t let yourself be collateral damage to the cold business logic that promotes overhiring and then laying off for the optics and fundraising cycle. Stay flexible. Pick up new skills in other industries and keep your house in order. The dream can still live on, even if you have to take a break for a time. Life is an adventure, and this might be a great challenge you must get through. But there is a light on the other side if you muster the will to endure. If you agree with this message, please consider reposting. There’s a lot of people who might need to read it, and they may be a part of your network. Let’s get through this storm together with the smallest number of casualties that we possibly can.

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Amir Satvat's Games Community Support Content - Upcoming Schedule All Resources Cited Available @amirsatvat.com 11/8 - Helping Hands  (Resource #4) Spotlight on community members who have been searching for a job for over a year. 11/9 - New Games Jobs Update  (Resource #11) I've held off on loading new roles for a few days due to everything happening in the world, but expect hundreds of new roles to be available for application soon. 11/9 - Full Weekly Update (Resources #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #16) Full refresh of all resources on the community website. 11/10 - Creator Partner Program Interest Check (Resource #18 - TBA) I will solicit participation interest in our new proposed Creator Partner Program for Amir Satvat's Games Community, highlighting those offering free games support to the community - based on your 94% / 6% in favor community vote. 11/11 - A BIG, BIG, BIG Surprise for Our Games Community Also Coming Soon   - A full study on job cuts by location (and more) from 2022 to 2024 YTD. - A concise one-page reference for all our key games job insights and stats. - Started a full update of the Games Jobs Directory (Resource #10)

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Okay, about to share some 🌶️ hot takes🔥, but the 2024 GOTY nominations are annoyingly disappointing to me. If I can’t vote for the games I think should win, I just won’t vote or watch. 1. Where is Warhammer on this list? Because that’s my #1 pick. Not even in the top 6?! Seriously!? Okay, then I’ll vote for my runner up, Helldivers 2… it’s not here either!?!? 🤬 2. I cannot get into Balatro🃏. I forced myself to play for ~6 hours to participate with a workgroup gaming club, and it seriously felt like I wasted the precious little game time I can scrounge as the parent of a 2 year old. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting game. But I do not understand how it can capture as devoted of fans as it has. It feels about as captivating as pinball. And while I might have wasted time in my youth on such things, it’s not something I find value in now. Very subjective, but I hate the theme, it just makes me want to play actual poker. And I do like rogue-likes, but generally ones with a character, some rpg elements, etc. Nothing against the devs, it’s just not for me; and I’m surprised by how small this camp is. 3. Astro bot, FF7 Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio …huh? You found spots for these but not Warhammer Space Marine 2 OR Helldiver’s 2? I get that The Game Awards is global 🌎, and there are plenty of Asian gamers, but did these titles really make that big a splash in those jurisdictions and this small a splash in the west that they weren’t even on the radar? And reverse that regarding HD2 and WH? I just don’t get it. 4. The way the Game Awards only gives the audience 10% of the final tally, is frankly BS. And there’s no 📝 write-in votes, so just their hand-selected nominees. Feels very behind-closed-doors kinds of scummy. As an industry, I think we should hold this event to a higher standard. Verdict: ⚖️ I’m not participating. I’ve boycotted things harder to avoid than this for less.

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I gave AoE mobile the old college try without assumptions, knowing they have to change the formula for a mobile format. I, too, have uninstalled. Here’s why: 1. Disingenuous marketing- acts like it’s regular AoE gameplay (it isn’t) 2. Disingenuous tutorial- pretends it’s regular AoE gameplay (they really hit this “sin” hard) 3. Unoriginal gameplay- same stuff that has been around for years, but with AoE skin over it (nostalgic SFX really hook you) 4. Fomo mechanics- if you don’t habitually log in multiple times a day, you’re missing out (this could also be called “disrespecting player time” & “not casual friendly”) 5. Gatcha game (heroes)- clearly a situation where pay to win AND power creep will keep a carrot on a stick infront of players. Predatory, unbalanced, and fosters vice. Bonus: Fiction- That’s right, straight up fictional characters on a fictional timeline not even trying to portray history. I don’t know what they were thinking, there’s SO many real people to draw from. (Note: half the hero roster is real historical figures and half is this fictional stuff) If anyone is curious how much content I saw, I paid a few bucks for a third builder, got my city to full lvl 10, got a few heroes to lvl 40 and 6/7 star pieces, participated in guild activities including taking a major town on the world map and pvp. Did everything I could for dailies, events, promotions, spending all energy as often as I could for nearly a week. There is fun to be had, but overall unfulfilled promises, unoriginal mechanics (not even the 80/20 rule, feels like 100/0) and predatory mechanics make me not want to support this game, despite being a huge AoE fan and wanting to see more success in my industry.

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Had a great chat with some fellow dev veterans about the basics of production—stuff that’s often missing on projects but makes a massive difference when done right. One big gap we kept coming back to: validating estimates. Here’s the thing: individual estimates might seem fine, but over time and across teams, they’re consistently off. That’s why it’s so important to measure and track the historical patterns of estimates vs. actual outcomes. When you do that, you start to see a truth—like a team that commits to X workload but only delivers 70% of it on average. With that insight, you can adjust future plans to set realistic expectations. This approach helps nail down milestones based on reality, whether that means prioritizing scope or sticking to a fixed deadline. If scope is king, you give the date. If the date is immovable, you define what can actually get delivered. When I interview production or program management candidates, at some point I always ask how they came up with their dates. Was it handed to them, or did they calculate it? Then I follow up with how they validated those dates were realistic? This is where most candidates stumble. Many just say, "The team told me what they could do by the date," and leave it at that. The problem is, people are notoriously bad at estimating, especially for long-term tasks and honestly, if you’re just taking estimates from the devs and passing them up the chain, I find myself wondering what value you're adding to this process in the first place. Why not skip you and go straight to the devs? In this process, a large value of the producer is in the validation step—digging into whether those dates hold up under scrutiny. After all, a big part of a producer's job overall is protecting the team, even from themselves. That means taking their estimates, validating what’s possible, and being the one to push back on both the team and communicate this out to the stakeholders. Without all that, you’re headed for crunch, every time. Learning to validate dates is one of the most important level-ups for associate and mid-level producers. Having this skill and being able to articulate how you do this can be the difference between landing a job or not. Then, once you’re on the team, it’s what sets apart producers who deliver from those who don’t. Hope this helps!

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