We have reported several times that these are very tough times in the gaming world. Fortunately, the biggest layoffs seem to have slowed down a bit, but we still hear far too often about people losing their livelihoods. Just recently, we reported that Meta is closing Twisted Pixel and Sanzaru Games, and that Massive is cutting back on its Swedish employees, with 55 jobs being lost.
Now we want to tell you about another layoff that shows just how difficult things can be. If you've played Xbox or at least followed the format, you'll probably remember Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, who was the face of the Xbox team and responsible for the community side of things. Three years ago, he left the Xbox team, and in 2024 it was revealed that he had moved to Unity (the game engine company)
But now, less than two years later, he has involuntarily left his position at Unity, which may be linked to the company's financial problems with sharp declines in revenue. Via Bluesky, he writes:
"As many of you have been with me during my career in gaming, I'd like to share personal news. Like many in the gaming space recently, I've been laid off from Unity
"After leaving Microsoft, I joined the Unity team in 2024. I am proud of the goals my team and I accomplished in just 18 months, and I am grateful for the creators and teams I had the chance to support. Now, I am excited to explore the next chapter."
We don't know what will happen next, but Hryb seems to have offers to choose from, and he appears to be open to changing careers entirely:
"I've had invigorating conversations over the past weeks with companies in tech and non-tech spaces to discuss partnerships. I love what I do but I also believe change is necessary. I'll let you know where I go from here."
We wish him the best of luck, of course, and regret that he might be leaving the industry. He is definitely the kind of person we need more of in the world of gaming.
<social>https://bsky.app/profile/hryb.me/post/3mccuyabbv22d</social>