Kevin Lambert

For everyone who is not attending GDC: Relax. It’s not a big deal. You’re not missing any "incredible opportunities." Your opportunities come from how great and desirable your products are, not from the conferences you attend. Networking matters, but it’s not just about party invites. Your online presence is just as powerful (if not more). P.S. And yes, I'm not attending GDC either. Instead of spending days on flights and nights in overpriced hotels, I’d rather get some work done.

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I want to demystify how ASGC tracks games industry job cuts so you understand what goes into the numbers The way we track industry reductions is far more rigorous than most people realize. I occasionally see comments wondering if we only use public announcements, WARN notices, or that we miss contractors, co dev teams, and non traditional roles. I understand why people might assume that, but that is not how our system works. Collecting jobs data is the most resource intensive process in our community because it shapes our support too. Step one is public information. We monitor news reports, company statements, WARN filings, and government notices. That is just the starting point. Step two is direct community reporting at scale. Every year I receive 5-10K+ messages, just related to job cuts, across LinkedIn, Discord, and email from people sharing what happened to them, their teammates, or their organizations. Much of this never appears in the press. It includes contractors, co dev partners, support studios, and indirect roles, not just FTEs at major publishers. Step three is individual signal tracking. I regularly review posts from professionals who are suddenly open to work or referencing team changes. These signals confirm patterns or reveal cuts that were not announced. All of this flows into a large internal tracking system that helps me understand not just how many roles were affected, but who was impacted, where, and when. That context allows our community to reach out and design support that matches reality rather than headlines. Is it perfect? No. I am still working to improve visibility in regions where transparency is lower. But I can say sincerely this process goes far beyond public records and is more comprehensive than any single external source. You may notice that, for a few years, I no longer publicly name organizations when cuts happen unless they request a Games Org support post. That is intentional. My goal is to avoid errors and avoid shaming, because I recognize that not every reduction comes from bad intent. Sometimes funding ends, contracts fall through, or projects conclude despite leaders trying to do right by their teams. Also, my approach is to build bridges and encourage quiet, meaningful accountability. I regularly hear that organizations know ASGC tracks layoff decisions and understand their actions will reach me, even with smaller or less visible cuts. That awareness, even without public callouts, can influence how situations are handled. Most importantly, workers know their experience is not invisible. Individual data is never shared publicly. People trust me with personal information, and I take that seriously. What I share are patterns, totals, and insights that help us mobilize support. So when we talk about industry cuts, please know this is not casual scorekeeping. It is the result of thousands of conversations and careful tracking to make sure every affected games person counts.

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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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A fair few folks I spoke to at PGC said they're skipping GDC this year. Mostly not for broader political reasons, but a mix of border risk and cost. Many basically don't want to risk either being turned away or being questioned because they feel in either event it harms their ability to visit later down the line. A few also cited being unsure whether GDC was "the place to be" any more, preferring to focus on Gamescom and its Dev arm. I also noticed that many aren't aware of the revised ticket structure for GDC. This is the part that I'm most excited for, as although it's more expensive to the Expo-only crowd it means most attendees can gain access to talks and panels in a way that they haven't been able to for many years. We may finally see some cross-pollination between the different camps of GDC, which I think can only be good for the conference (and the attendees) overall.

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Client:  "How do we get spend depth above $100k for a hybrid-casual game?" Wittle Defender (Habby) is the latest, and arguably most casually-packaged example of the AFK Arena-inspired ‘Idle RPG’ economy. For anyone who hasn't worked on 'Idle RPGs', the most defining features of the genre, from the economy perspective, are: 1) DEEP reliance on gacha duplicate fusion. 2) A reasonably small pool of heroes (20-40, not 200). 3) Automation of nearly all inventory management. 4) Economies that are VERY generous to players who engage consistently, while being VERY extractive for whales who are impatient enough to pay 'retail price' to progress. In these games, gachas are pulled thousands of times.  Most pulls yield duplicates of heroes already owned, and dupes are instantly converted into currencies (often element and rarity-specific). The result is a casual, accessible experience with extraordinary spend depth. In WD’s case, just 8 Mythic Heroes (so far) generate $𝟰𝟮𝗸 of ‘gacha fusion’ spend depth alone, by virtue of needing 37 copies* ea. at a 2.5% drop rate from primary gacha, at $3.60 per pull. How can one achieve similar spend-depth design for games without character collection? WD’s treasures (account-level gear) system uses gacha duplicate fusion similarly to add $𝟴𝟳𝗸 more spend depth.  Each of WD's 36 common treasure types can be fused all the way through the tree to max-rarity, but each requires 𝟭𝟬𝟴𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 to do so. While WD has about $170k spend depth today, the economy systems convert new content into additional spend depth very rapidly. If WD releases one new Mythic hero (with corresponding 2 treasures) weekly (+$10k), the game will cross $300k spend depth in just 3 months. That said, we expect that Habby will do much more, both on the systems and content front. FWIW, I'm not saying that this game is guaranteed to succeed.  As a player, my initial reaction was that the gameplay was too automated and repetitive for my tastes. But when it comes to basic economy design, WD is yet another Habby exemplar that hybrid-casual developers can study and model.

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72% of devs believe Steam has a monopoly on PC games. Conducted by Atomik Research, 306 industry executives were surveyed across the UK and USA. 75% of respondents were senior managers or C-suite level, with 77% from studios with more than 50 employees. The study found that for most studios, Steam accounts for over 75% of revenue. In US law, you’d need to either control the production pipeline top to bottom, or hold a dominant share through acquisitions of competitors. Steam does neither. Valve hasn’t bought out rivals and it doesn’t own all the studios that make the games sold through its store. What it does own is competence, and that’s where this whole argument starts to fall apart. Almost every other storefront has had years to compete, and almost all have stumbled. This isn’t a case of Valve killing competition. The competition just keeps shooting itself in the foot. Steam spent years refining features that now define the PC ecosystem: cloud saves, remote play, Workshop mods, forums, reviews, refund policies, and Proton support for Linux users. It built hardware, an OS, and a handheld that all tie back into the same ecosystem. Most importantly, it kept the service stable, predictable, and user-focused. That level of reliability became its moat. What developers call a monopoly is often just a reflection of consumer trust. Steam is where people go because they know their games, progress, and friends will still be there in a decade. It’s not market manipulation it’s consistency. If studios think they “rely too heavily” on Steam, that says more about their alternatives than about Valve itself. No one forced them to abandon their own launchers or build weak ones. Consumers simply migrate to what works best for them. It’s worth remembering that monopolies aren’t defined by popularity or market share alone. A monopoly becomes illegal when it restrains competition. Steam hasn’t done that. It hasn’t blocked other stores, locked content, or acquired rivals. It just runs the best version of what everyone else keeps trying to make. The day someone builds a better, more reliable, more feature-rich service, Steam will finally have a real challenger. Until then, calling it a monopoly is just a way to avoid admitting the obvious: they aren’t trying to kill their competition. Their competition is almost non-existent.

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𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜’𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝟵𝟵% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝗗 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆. (And how you can get into that 1%) For the last 8 years running my own studio, I've seen thousands of portfolios. The truth is, the vast majority of 3D artists aren't even close to being ready. I've hired great artists who were constantly late and needed constant micromanagement. Their talent was a 10, but their reliability was a 3. A massive source of stress :/ I've hired artists with stunning portfolios who, once on a project, couldn't design anything without hand-holding. I realized their portfolio was a highlight reel of work heavily art-directed by someone else. They were not the creative problem-solvers we seek. I’ve hired artists who looked like professionals, but when they delivered their work, it was a technical mess with bugs, forgotten details, and things simply not working. Having spoken to many other creative business owners over the years, I can tell you this is one of the MAJOR complaints out there. Finding good people is rare. At Mesh Masters, we look for "ACE" artists. It’s an acronym we use to define a well-rounded professional: 𝟭. "𝗔" is for Artistic Skill This isn't just about making a great model. It's about true artistry. Can you design something from scratch? Can you understand the feeling a piece needs to convey and embed that in its shapes, colors, and composition? This is the difference between a modeler and an artist. 𝟮. "𝗖" is for Communication & Collaboration Are you a reliable professional? Do you take notes in meetings and follow through on your commitments? Do you communicate clearly and proactively when you're stuck? Your team needs to trust that you will get the work done on time and without issues. Being a strong, dependable teammate is not a soft skill. It's an essential one. 𝟯. "𝗘" is for Engine Integration Your work doesn't live on your canvas alone. Can you implement your assets in the game engine and ensure they are technically flawless? An asset that looks great in your 3D app but is broken for the next person in the pipeline is a massive liability, a source of frustration, and lost time. You must be able to deliver your work to a high standard. 𝟰. And Finally: 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 Your portfolio is not just a gallery, it's how you present yourself. A sloppy presentation signals a lack of professionalism. Take time to design your portfolio, make amazing thumbnails, think about your “house style” and how to render your work. Make sure your brand says "high-quality, reliable professional." When someone lands in my inbox and I see they have all this handled, they are a rare find. They have immense leverage. They are the ones I want to get on a video call. Our mission at Mesh Masters is expanding to help you become a high-level artist like that. If you're want to learn more on these topics, reach out here or find us on our site. Robert #GameDev #3DArtist #ArtDirection #3D #3DArt

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