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Today I am releasing v20.0 of the Original Games Jobs Workbook For those newer to the community, or who may not have seen it in a while, here is a quick reminder of what this resource is. A while back we combined two workbooks into one joint resource. Many of you will remember the Original Games Jobs Workbook that I prepared. Alongside it we introduced a new Games Jobs Workbook, created in collaboration with Mayank Grover and the Outscal team. Both are important. The new workbook is excellent for bulk content, covering a wide range of roles in games and tech and supporting high frequency preparation. The Original workbook is different. It uses a proprietary technique I developed over three years that scrapes data from every company page, removes geographic duplication and repeated postings, and provides the cleanest and most accurate data anywhere on how many open roles there really are in the games industry worldwide. I still prepare the Original workbook, just as I have since 2022, every two to three months because as a community you deserve both. While I no longer provide the functional detail publicly, I continue to produce and collect it (in a much speedier, short-form way in raw data form) because it underpins so much of what we do together. I have just finished the quarterly update, and here are some key observations: • The total number of open roles in the games industry decreased from 13,411 to 12,816. • This was the second largest quarter for defunct companies since I began tracking in mid-2022. Seventy-eight organizations dropped off, bringing the total down from 2,934 to 2,856. • The number of companies currently hiring is at its lowest level ever. Last quarter 898 companies had at least one open role. That figure has now fallen to 798, compared to a high of about 1,100 over the past three years. • Role concentration among the top 5, 10, 25, and 50 hiring companies ticked up slightly by two to three percentage points. The purpose of this update was to get us an apples-to-apples measure of how the industry is shifting. Next, I will prepare one more major update of new roles and companies before the XDS event in September, incorporating data generously shared by XDS Spark, Game Caviar, and Alexander Rehm. Thank you to everyone who continues to support these resources. You can find both the new and the Original Games Jobs Workbook on Amir Satvat's Games Community's site under Resource #3, View Roles at https://lnkd.in/dQVT4U4y Just click on the Original Workbook tab for this update and enjoy!

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If you're looking for work now or later, here’s how to write a great LinkedIn post, based on what’s worked for thousands of successful ASGC hires ✅ What to include in your post: 1. Highlight your experience Names of studios, shipped titles, platforms. Anything that instantly tells someone where you’ve been. Example: “Senior Producer at Bungie (Destiny 2 expansions), also shipped live content for Apex Legends.” 2. Say what you bring to the table. Cite metrics Get specific with tools, systems, or responsibilities. Avoid generalities like “hard-working” or “team player” or "passionate" Example: “Skilled in Unity, C#, and LiveOps systems. Built seasonal pipelines used by 5M+ MAUs.” 3. Be clear about what you’re looking for Roles, titles, level, remote/onsite, locations you’re open to. Clarity helps people help you. Example: “Open to gameplay designer roles (mid or senior), remote preferred, but open to relocation in North America.” 4. Include one sentence about what drives you Let people understand what motivates you or what kind of game/team you love. Example: “I’m most energized when working on cooperative gameplay and systems that reward team skill.” 5. Share a link to your resume and/or portfolio Make it easy. This is essential. 6. Thank those helping and ask directly for engagement to drive more engagement. Be explicit: “Thank you to everyone who’s offered advice or support. If you’re willing to reshare this post or tag someone hiring, I’d deeply appreciate it.” 7. Tag 5–10 key allies or organizations Past collaborators, trusted managers, recruiters. Not 50 names. You want people who are likely to engage. The LinkedIn algorithm punishes you for non-engaging mentions. 8. Optional extras that help: Mention your visa/work authorization if relevant (I find more openness upfront, for all things, is better) Share 1-2 favorite accomplishments or stats Add a clear headline to the post for visibility (e.g. “Open to work: Narrative Designer | Remote or LA”) --- ❌ What not to do: 1. Don’t play the empathy card Framing your post around how hard this has been or your pain won’t drive the engagement you’re hoping for. Keep the focus on your skills, experience, and what you want next. 2. Don’t say how long you’ve been looking / how many applications It can make people ask questions, fair or not. 3. Don’t be vague Avoid lines like “open to opportunities” or “seeing what’s out there.” Get specific so people know how to help. 4. Don’t write a novel or something too short 3-6 short, clear paragraphs is the sweet spot. Too long, and most people won’t finish it. Too short (like a 3-4 sentence post) likely won’t have enough detail to spark meaningful engagement. --- Need more help? Find always free CV, portfolio, and LinkedIn reviews daily in our Discord: discord.gg/asgc. Find volunteer-led support and tens of other resources at asgc.gg Find 1,000 annual helpful posts by following me on LinkedIn We’ve helped 4,500+ people land roles. You're next!

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I highly recommend these bootcamps, Game Mechanics with Alexander Brazie, 3D Game Level Design with Nathan Kellman & Mike Madden, & Gsme Writing/Narrative Design with me (Kelly Bender) as they are not “theory based” & are the most in-depth programs out there, & teach you more industry skills, knowledge, & insights than any other courses out there (including college ones). These bootcamps are taught by industry professionals who also give you actionable & guided feedback, to not only improve your quality but also your awareness of why we do things a certain way & how it benefits the players XP & increases immersion, & retention. Let alone the certification, validation of your skills & XP, a personal portfolio site that showcases your skills & stands out, & practical skills, knowledge, insights, templates, & work XP that helps you get noticed by studios. The spring bootcamps start next week, so sign up now by clicking the link 👇

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If you've never hired a game developer to a non-games role, you are missing out on some of the smartest, hardest working, most adaptable employees out there. These are people who have to completely re-learn their craft every few years as technologies and tools change rapidly. They know how to work smarter. They don't panic. They don't say "that's not my job" Every game dev I've ever known that's left to other fields has been an immediate rockstar anywhere they went.

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Once again another hard day in the gaming industry. I'm so heart broken for so many people affected across the industry. I'm doing my best to help however I can - though networking, hiring into the roles we have open, and sharing candidates' information with others who may be hiring for positions that better fit their skills. My goal, my joy here at Blizzard, is to match people to the right roles & match the right roles to the right people. However I will say as much as I love games, please, please, please know it's OK to pivot out of games. And it's OK to do it right away if you need to. Paying the bills, feeding your family, and keeping a roof over your head are the most important things and that's absolutely OK. A little bit of research shows that rapidly growing industries right now are renewable energy, healthcare (healthtech more specifically), cybersecurity, software, IT and financial services. There are others on the list you can find with a quick search. I don't want to discourage you from applying for jobs in gaming. But limiting yourself only to game jobs right now may be like cutting both your hands off and maybe both your legs off, too. It can be scary stepping outside of your comfort zone, especially when your resume only covers one area of experience. Learning how to format your resume for new types of roles you may start applying to will be extremely important. It's ok to have more then one resume. When I wanted to pivot into recruiting from 3D Artist, I had absolutely NO recruiting experience. However after much research-and soul searching-I learned how to format my resume (& cover letter) to highlight skills I already had. Skills like hiring, interviewing, project management, and stakeholder/client-facing experience from previous roles that I had held that could be paired with my background as a 3D Artist. Then a stellar studio called The Third Floor liked what they saw and took a chance, brought me in for an interview and the rest is history. I never would have had that opportunity if I hadn't reformatted my resume to catch their eye for that recruiting role. I see a lot of resumes that don't pivot for the job the person is applying for. And it genuinely bums me out; it feels like a missed opportunity and wasted effort. Often, the resume doesn't show the skills needed for the role. I bet if they had taken some time and spent some time tailoring their resume for that type of role they were applying to, they would have had a better shot. Don't just list off the hard skills, make sure to cover your soft skills from previous roles as well! Those are important! You don't need a custom resume for every job application. Just create two to three well formatted versions, each tailored to different types of roles you’re pursing. A bit more leg work in the beginning, helps pay off more later. I hope that is helpful during this time. And no I'm not selling you a service. You can do research online to learn this stuff free.

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The 10 commandments for not getting cast in a project: 1. Don't label your audio files correctly. 2. Audition for roles that are clearly not suited to you. 3. Add reverb or fancy fx to your voice for no reason. 4. Include auditions for multiple characters in the same audio file. 5. Fail to research pronunciations on unfamiliar words 6. Don't check your levels before submitting your file 7. Follow up with your casting producer every hour to see if you got the role 8. Add a cool effect to the recording 9. Submit an entire session of takes 10. Chuck in some whacky voices for no reason Tip - casting directors are looking for reasons NOT to shortlist you first. P.S What other quick tips would you add to this list?

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I’ve interviewed hundreds of people across my 20+ years in the video game industry — as a tester, production manager, and recruiter. Something I see constantly is that talented people struggle with interviews, not because they lack ability, but because they rarely get real practice with industry-level questions. So I’m experimenting with something new. I’m going to start recording mock interviews with aspiring game industry professionals. The goal is twofold: • Give the interviewee real practice and actionable feedback • Let others see what strong answers and common mistakes actually look like Think of it like a behind-the-scenes look at how game industry interviews really work. If you're someone trying to break into games (or level up your career) and you're open to being interviewed on camera, comment below or send me a message. We already have at least 3 volunteers lined up, and I’m excited to see where this goes. If it helps enough people, I may turn this into a regular series. After two decades in games, helping people navigate their careers might be one of the most meaningful things I can do with what I’ve learned. Let’s build something useful for the community.

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