{"id":60172,"date":"2025-08-05T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T13:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/developers-go-their-own-way-as-jobs-dry-up\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T13:20:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T13:20:01","slug":"developers-go-their-own-way-as-jobs-dry-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/developers-go-their-own-way-as-jobs-dry-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Developers go their own way as jobs dry up"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"StudioStudio Morgan<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Harvey Hayman and Holly Hudson founded their own studio after graduating from a game design course<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

When Holly Hudson enrolled on a university video game design course, she imagined a job at a studio would be waiting at the end of it.<\/p>\n

Her dream was to work as a 3D artist, but the reality has been different.<\/p>\n

“I’ve applied to so many jobs this year,” says the 25-year-old.<\/p>\n

“But it’s just, it’s really tough.”<\/p>\n

Holly graduated in 2023, just as a wave of layoffs and studio closures began to sweep across the industry she hoped to enter.<\/p>\n

It’s a trend that’s continued and, in 2025, the picture is still fairly bleak for those looking for jobs in gaming.<\/p>\n

According to industry body UKIE, as of June this year, there were just under 700 active vacancies in UK game development.<\/p>\n

Fewer than 5% of those were in junior positions, it said.<\/p>\n

But Holly and others like her are finding ways to follow their passions and get their creations out there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Despite struggling to find a full-time job in the industry, Holly has just released her first commercial game alongside uni course mate Harvey Hayman.<\/p>\n

Morgan: Metal Detective – a “cosy” slow-paced adventure game set in Cornwall -began life as their end-of-year project.<\/p>\n

Players take on the role of Morgan, a young girl who uses her late grandfather’s metal detector to find lost items and return them to residents on a small island.<\/p>\n

Holly and Harvey tell BBC Newsbeat it’s a personal project for both of them, inspired by childhood holidays in south-west England, but one they’ve had to work hard to get over the line.<\/p>\n

Funding for new video games has also declined in the past two years, so the project has been largely self-financed.<\/p>\n

“It’s basically Holly and I trying to pick up contracting work where we can,” says Harvey, who also has a job at a TV production company.<\/p>\n

“And so it’s like having to balance these different things,” he says. <\/p>\n

“We really want to release this game, but also we need some money to live on and make sandwiches.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"StudioStudio Morgan<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Harvey and Holly have managed to make Morgan: Metal Detective available on most major gaming platforms<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

The most recent figures from the UK Parliament<\/a> show that 4,800 students began video game-related degrees in 2021.<\/p>\n

Holly believes that the route she and Harvey have taken is “quite common” among their peers.<\/p>\n

“There’s a couple of us that have gone on to start our own studios,” she says.<\/p>\n

Other young people are finding success via Roblox and Fortnite – using in-game tools to create levels and experiences to share with others.<\/p>\n

For those willing to put the hours in, it can be lucrative.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sonny Tranter, 23, started making maps in Minecraft before moving over to Fortnite, where his creations caught on and found an audience.<\/p>\n

This led to partnerships with well-known brands, and Sonny, better known as Driz, has recently set up his own studio dedicated to building Fortnite content.<\/p>\n

Epic Games, which makes the multiplayer hit, says 40% of net revenue from the game’s item shop is shared among creators according to the level of engagement they generate.<\/p>\n

If an “island” – as the creations are known – attracts new players, brings back lapsed fans or gets regular return visits, it will generate more money for its makers.<\/p>\n

Sonny says Fortnite uses an algorithm based on these metrics, similar to YouTube, to decide which ones to promote to users.<\/p>\n

He admits that can make it difficult for newcomers to make a mark and push more unique creations.<\/p>\n

“If you want to make a game that’s different, but still does well, I think the best strategy is probably build off what’s already popular and make it unique in your own way,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"DrizDriz<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Driz has worked on Fortnite Islands based on well-known brands, such as manga series My Hero Academia<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Developers like Holly and Harvey face a similar problem of visibility.<\/p>\n

With thousands of new games released each year – getting yours seen is another huge challenge for independents.<\/p>\n

“We’ve tried as hard as we can without spending a lot of money,” says Harvey.<\/p>\n

“Because there’s one way to guarantee game sales – have a load of cash so you can just put marketing on the side of buses. <\/p>\n

“But we don’t have that.” <\/p>\n

Harvey says he and Holly have taken opportunities to showcase the game whenever they’ve arisen – even being flown out the USA.<\/p>\n

He says each appearance usually leads to a bump in wishlists – where potential players can register their interest on online stores – which have “built up slowly over time”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

UKIE, which represents the games industry, says there are “more routes than ever” into gaming careers but access to entry level jobs remains “challenging”.<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing the tools and knowledge needed to build a game become more accessible every year, which is helping to democratise entry into the industry,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

They said UKIE was in discussions with the government about ways apprenticeships and similar programmes can “provide pathways for new entrants and help upskill the current workforce”. <\/p>\n

Scott Alsworth, from the IWGB Union’s game workers’ branch, said the UK games industry faced “apocalyptic conditions” after years of mass layoffs, overspending “and AI-driven displacement”.<\/p>\n

He said workers at all levels of also struggled to find stable employment in the current climate, on top of the outlook for graduates or new entrants. <\/p>\n

“Aspiring working-class developers have it particularly bad,” he said, adding that the UK’s gaming workforce lagged behind industries such as film and TV in terms of representation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Despite this, both Holly and Harvey wouldn’t discourage those with a passion for games from following it.<\/p>\n

Holly says the games industry is “so friendly” and supportive and meeting others in the same situation has made the past two years “more manageable” for her.<\/p>\n

She expects more young developers to launch their own studios in the coming years.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite an interesting path to take rather than just being rejected over and over again,” she says.<\/p>\n

“But I think hopefully it’s quite inspiring and it shows people that actually there are different ways to make games rather than getting a publisher and finding money that way.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Listen to Newsbeat live<\/a> at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Studio Morgan Harvey Hayman and Holly Hudson founded their own studio after graduating from a game design course When Holly Hudson enrolled on a university video game design course, she imagined a job at a studio would be waiting at the end of it. Her dream was to work as a 3D artist, but the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[62],"tags":[5679,6267,771],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60174,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60172\/revisions\/60174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}