What's Behind the Video-Game Layoffs? Players Sticking With Old Favorites

  • Some 6,400 industry workers have lost their jobs this year
  • A top 20 list features older titles, including some from 2009
Epic’s Fortnite video game.Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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With video-game players increasingly sticking with the titles they’ve been hooked on for years, leaders in the $184 billion industry are cutting thousands of staffers and canceling riskier projects.

Over 6,400 video-game workers have lost their jobs over the past two months at companies such as Microsoft Corp., Embracer Group AB and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Riot Games.