Austin’s video game industry faces layoffs and uncertainty – spectrumlocalnews.com

Austin’s video game industry faces layoffs and uncertainty  spectrumlocalnews.com

Austin remains a major gaming hub, but layoffs are raising questions about the future of game development jobs. TEXAS — Austin has long been a major hub for video game development. But recent layoffs at Microsoft-owned gaming studios in Texas are raising questions about how much stability remains for people trying to build careers in the industry. Texas Workforce Commission records show ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios and id Software, reported layoffs affecting over 20 workers in Austin and over 130 in Richardson this year. For Anne Barrett, working at Bethesda Game Studios was the fulfillment of a childhood ambition. “I had three older brothers, and one of my earliest memories is playing split-screen Halo with them,” Barrett said.

Barrett studied computer science and moved from Chicago to Austin in 2019 to work at Bethesda. She worked as a gameplay programmer on titles including Fallout 76 and Starfield. But in July, Barrett was among the Bethesda employees affected by layoffs. “I’ve since been put back as an employee, though I am currently in a leave status, in order to get us to a first contract,” she said. Barrett is a member of One BGS, the union representing Bethesda Game Studios workers through the Communications Workers of America. The union has been bargaining with Microsoft for a