Growth instead of cuts as Japan's gaming industry moves against the tide

It's no secret that the gaming industry has seen layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs over the past two years - resulting in the phenomenon even having its own Wiki page.

Around 10,000 people lost their jobs in 2023 and 15,000 in 2024, and in just three months this year, almost 2,000 employees have been fired. But not all gaming industries are in crisis. As Automaton can now report, Japanese game companies are doing great and according to Kantan Games analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, five giants - Bandai Namco, Capcom, Konami, Nintendo, and Sony - have broken stock market records.

Capcom is reported to be enjoying 13 years of growth, while Konami has just made a comeback in the gaming world, enjoying success with Silent Hill 2 Remake (and has more Silent Hill around the corner and the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater). Nintendo and Sony have done well with their respective consoles, while Bandai Namco is reported to have record revenues in 2025 after a tough 2024.

This, coupled with strict rules on layoffs (although Bandai Namco has been accused of abusing the system and is an exception), has led Japanese game companies to grow and hire more people rather than fire staff. And there is certainly not much at the moment that looks like it will change this trend, as the Japanese games industry has probably not been stronger than this since PlayStation dominated the mid-90s.