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Ubisoft headcount declined by 1,700 on the path to its highest net bookings ever
(www.gamedeveloper.com)
It's simple. Game companies made a killing during the pandemic with money meant to sustain the economy. Now the economy isn't so good and debt is expensive, so it's time to cut headcount as fast as possible to book record profits. Same for most tech companies, hell companies in general.
Then they'll start whining it's hard to make money these days and they need a tax payer backed boost to get people working again "for the benefit of the economy". They are holding it hostage, and the politicians are playing into it for personal gain.
Needless to say it's not getting better any time soon.