Final Fantasy 16 actor criticizes job security in the games industry amid thousands of lay offs: "Honestly, are we going to get serious?"
Dec. 1, 2023“An astonishing year for the video games that have been made, but not necessarily for the industry that it reflects.”
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Ben Starr, the voice behindFinal Fantasy 16’smain man Clive, called out the video game industry’s recent instability in a viral clip.
“Honestly, are we going to get serious?” the actor asks in the interview clip below. “It’s not a great year for video games in so far as all of the layoffs - it’s not great for that, and that needs to be spoken about at an event like this. Maybe there is something missing because a lot of people who made those games are no longer working at those companies and I think that also has to be respected.”
Starr continues: “Hopefully this is the worst that it gets - I fear that it isn’t - but I hope the industry figures out a way of course correcting and allowing those people who made these games we’re celebrating today to celebrate them as well and not be on the unemployment line.”
GTA 6’s publisher blames the layoffs on “the enthusiasm of the pandemic,” and believes that some companies overextended themselves during lockdown.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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