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The games industry is beginning to hire again.
After a difficult few years of restructuring, layoffs and project cancellations, many studios are slowly moving back into growth mode. New projects are entering production, teams are rebuilding and hiring conversations are starting again.
But while hiring activity is returning, the recruitment environment has changed.
And for many studios and candidates alike, navigating the hiring process has become more difficult than it used to be.
A market with more candidates and more pressure
One of the biggest shifts the industry has seen is the increase in candidate activity.
Following waves of layoffs across the sector since 2022, thousands of experienced developers are now actively exploring new opportunities. This means studios are seeing a huge rise in application numbers for many roles.
It is not unusual now for a single position to attract hundreds, sometimes thousands of applicants.
At first glance, this might sound like a positive for studios. But the reality is more complicated.
Highly specialised roles such as gameplay engineers, technical artists, engine programmers or live operations specialists often receive large volumes of applications where only a small percentage truly match the requirements.
For internal recruiters and hiring teams, this creates an enormous workload.
Internal recruiters are under real pressure
Recruiters in games studios are working harder than ever to manage these application volumes while still delivering a positive candidate experience.
But many studios reduced their talent teams during the downturn. As hiring begins to return, recruitment teams are often smaller than they once were.
This means a single recruiter may now be responsible for:
• reviewing hundreds of applications
• managing multiple open roles
• coordinating interviews across time zones
• communicating with candidates • supporting hiring managers
All while trying to keep the process moving smoothly.
Hiring managers are balancing two jobs
When recruiting teams are stretched, hiring managers inevitably take on more responsibility.
Leads, directors and producers often find themselves reviewing CVs, running interviews and helping manage candidate pipelines alongside their day to day work.
But these are the same people responsible for delivering games.
When production deadlines approach, hiring processes can slow down simply because the people involved are already working at capacity.
And this is where candidate experience can sometimes suffer.
The candidate experience challenge
For candidates, the current hiring environment can feel incredibly frustrating.
You might apply for a role that closely matches your skills and experience and hear nothing back.
Or you may progress through a process that takes longer than expected because the hiring team is balancing recruitment alongside development milestones.
In many cases this is not due to a lack of interest from the studio. It is simply the result of an overloaded hiring process.
Recruiters are doing their best to review large volumes of applicants while maintaining communication and fairness across the process.
But when a role receives hundreds of applications, it becomes extremely difficult to give every candidate the level of feedback or response they deserve.
Why strong hiring processes matter more than ever
This environment is highlighting something that has always been important but is now becoming critical.
Candidate experience matters.
When hiring processes are well supported and structured, everyone benefits.
Candidates receive clearer communication and a better experience. Hiring managers can focus on evaluating the right talent. Recruiters can spend more time building strong pipelines rather than managing administrative volume.
Studios that invest in their hiring processes are far more likely to attract and secure the talent they need.
Supporting hiring teams as studios grow again
As studios begin expanding again, many are rethinking how they approach recruitment.
Some are rebuilding internal talent teams. Others are improving hiring processes, systems and infrastructure.
Another approach we are seeing more often is embedded recruitment support.
Rather than relying purely on external hiring agencies, studios bring experienced recruiters directly into their hiring process to help manage sourcing, screening, coordination and candidate communication.
This can give internal recruiters additional capacity while ensuring hiring managers remain focused on development.
At Skillsearch, we have seen this model work across the full spectrum of the industry, from indie start ups building their first teams to mobile studios scaling live operations and AAA organisations hiring globally.
Hiring well will define the next phase of the industry
As the industry stabilises and studios begin growing again, hiring will remain one of the biggest challenges and opportunities teams face.
Studios that can run efficient, thoughtful and candidate focused hiring processes will have a real advantage in attracting the best talent.
Because at the end of the day, great games are built by great teams.
And great teams start with great hiring.
Reach out to us!
If you are a candidate navigating the current hiring market, know that many studios are working hard to improve their hiring processes and candidate experience as the industry stabilises.
And if you are part of a studio currently managing hiring challenges, it would be great to hear how your team is approaching recruitment in the current market.
Giles Fenwick is a Director at Skillsearch, helping studios build high-performing teams across the global games, XR and immersive technology industries.
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