Laid Off From a Game Studio? What to Do in the First 30 Days

After a layoff at a game studio, the first 30 days come down to three jobs: protect your money, protect your proof, and start talking to people. In that order. Don't start with applications. A layoff isn't a verdict on you. It's math, and the people who recover fastest treat the first month like a plan instead of a panic.

You got the call. Or the email. Or the calendar invite with no agenda.

Take a day. Then start.

You're not alone in this. GDC's 2026 State of the Game Industry survey found that about one in three U.S. respondents had been laid off in the previous two years.

What should you do in the first 72 hours?

Logistics first. None of it is exciting. All of it matters.

Don't sign anything on the spot. Ask how long you have to review the severance agreement. Have an employment attorney read anything that touches equity, non-competes, or a release. This isn't legal advice.

File for unemployment right away. If you're in the U.S., the rules vary by state, and waiting can delay your first payment.

Check when your health coverage ends. Find out the date and what your options are.

Ask what happens to equity, bonuses, and unused time off. Get the answers in writing.

Get contact info before your accounts shut off. Personal emails and numbers for the people who know your work. Ask your manager for a reference or a LinkedIn recommendation while they're still reachable.

Save what you're allowed to keep. Your own notes on wins and numbers. Never take confidential files.

Week one: put your proof on paper

Pick your three best wins. For each one, write what was broken, what you did (you, not the team), and what changed. Short and specific. Numbers if you have them.

That's your proof. Everything else you write, from your resume to your outreach, starts here. A positioning statement is built from these wins.

Week two: reconnect with ten people

Ten individual notes to people who already know your work. Say what happened plainly. No spin. Ask for ten minutes or their read on the market. Don't ask for a job.

Most senior roles get shaped through conversations before they're posted, so this is the hidden job market working in your favor. If the notes feel awkward to write, here's how to reconnect with old contacts.

Week three: name your one thing

What's the specific problem people should call you for? If you can't say it in one sentence, nobody can repeat it for you. Write the sentence. Test it on two people. Fix it.

Week four: put one thing in the market

A contract. A consulting conversation. A side project you dust off. Something that makes a dollar that doesn't come from one boss.

This is where a shell helps. It's the bare bones of a consulting practice: a legal entity, a business bank account, a one-sentence offer, a simple agreement, and an invoice template. Here's what goes in a consulting shell. If you built it before the layoff, you're a week ahead. If you didn't, build it this month, so the first client doesn't wait on your paperwork.

If you need the income, take a job this week. Take it. But don't stop there. Build something next to it, so the next round of cuts is an annoyance, not a catastrophe.

What does recovery look like?

A client of mine spent years at two of the biggest names in games. He left, and now he's at a smaller company that sees what he's worth. The big name was never the safety. His value was.

Stop treating one employer, or one paycheck, as your security blanket. A job is a seat. Your proof, your reputation, and your network travel with you.

What shouldn't you do?

Don't mass-apply first. Hundreds of applications into a posting you found online lands you in the biggest pile there is.

Don't go silent. People can't help you if they don't know. Say it plainly.

Don't rush the first yes. A rushed yes without reading the terms can cost you more than the job pays.

Layoffs aren't personal. They're math. I've been laid off twice, and I know how fast the math moves once it starts.

Your job belongs to the company. Your reputation, your proof, and your network belong to you.