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Game developers, I know lots of us are in a place right now where we& #39;re feeling pretty safe in our industry. Many of us are at companies that are thriving better than ever due to more people being indoors playing games.
Please caution that this is a calm before the storm.
Please caution that this is a calm before the storm.
Extra unemployment benefits are about to run out (the CARES Act). You have formerly dual-income households about to drop down to one income (if they haven& #39;t already) due to not sending their children to school. Expendable income is about to tank.
Entire industries are going to be affected for years as a result of this (restaurants, live music, indoor playgrounds, gyms) and right now the businesses are living off fumes, savings, and credit cards. This will end, and we& #39;ll see these businesses close.
Who& #39;s going to buy them? Big tech companies and VCs and rich brands will take over all those small businesses when they go bankrupt and up for auction.
Already I& #39;m seeing parents from "rich" areas like Bay Area, New York, LA asking in mom& #39;s groups where their family can relocate. They& #39;re taking their big tech salaries and their $1m house down payments and working from home in cheaper places. Buying up real estate.
Eviction protection is ending. People are going to lose their homes, and they& #39;re not going to be spending money on their video games anymore. Credit cards are getting filled up.
Public school is likely going to receive its final nail in the coffin. All of the privileged will find a way to send their kids to private schools so their kids can attend in-person (so the parents can work, naturally) or hire teachers at home, taking them from public ed.
If we& #39;re all in this together, we need to really be all in this together. Nurses, doctors, teachers, hair stylists, small business owners, live musicians, parents, these people need our help. We& #39;re in for some dire times before things mend.
I literally don& #39;t know how the vast majority of parents are going to educate their children at home while also keeping their jobs so they can afford to raise them and keep a roof over their head. There& #39;s no government help right now.
Video games are already inaccessible to many underprivileged people, but that group is about to expand drastically. Please don& #39;t fool yourselves into thinking game dev jobs are immune.
