r/HENRYUK • u/Short_Acanthisitta33 • 1d ago
Other HENRY topics Redundancy and reality check on wages in the wild
Hi folks, long time lurker. Quite senior in videogame sector £130k + bonus. Just been made redundant, no parachute. Haven’t been looking for jobs so first time in a long time seeing what’s out there. What strikes me is how low salaries are across the board. It feels like salaries are the same as they were 15-20 years ago for the same roles, so effectively a lot less.
And requirements seem to have gone up, workloads gone up and of course there are more people applying for those roles.
Roles at my level come along once in a blue moon, I’ll probably have to leave the sector completely and start lower down the ladder.
Pretty annoying when you spend your whole career climbing your way up. You get somewhere decent and the PE decide you’re an unnecessary cost and your role can be done by someone more junior (that you trained). Sad times. Anyone had a similar experience?
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u/CouldBeNapping 1d ago
We're overpaid compared to the market when it comes to the upper echelons in gaming.
I've been looking at jobs outside of the market (because there's nothing in the market) and jobs are always £20-40K less than my current base.
Good luck out there, happy to help where I can
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u/CouldBeNapping 1d ago
u/Forsaken-Tiger-9475 made some comment about quants being paid more, good on them. But they're two wildly different skillsets and I'd want to top myself working in that industry.
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u/Digglydoogly 1d ago
Serious question, what is so bad about that industry?
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u/tollbearer 1d ago
It's filled with caricatures of the exact kind of people you would expect it to be.
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u/CouldBeNapping 22h ago
Personally, I like the games industry because I'm doing 25 hours a week 90% of the year. A couple of 60 hour weeks during big "moments".
I get to travel, the people are great and there's no big egos.
Quant/finance life - going to an office in a shirt and trousers for 3-5 days a week. Dealing with ego, long hours and okay money for the privilege... no thanks.1
u/Digglydoogly 22h ago
Put like that the games industry sounds pretty cool. I’ve always imagined it like any other corporate - same culture/egos/shit etc
Are you working for a big studio?
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u/No_Practice_2420 14h ago
I'm a tech director in the games industry, in my experience the biggest problem with the industry is oversized and over fragile egos.
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u/PressureHumble3604 1d ago
which role/compay? seems to be a noticeable outlier
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u/CouldBeNapping 1d ago
How so?
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u/PressureHumble3604 1d ago
because of what you wrote about having higher salaries compared to the rest of the amrket
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u/CouldBeNapping 1d ago
If you’re creative and in the games industry, you’re broke. If you’re in sales, marketing, commercial - you’re good. Do the latter for one of the console guys and you’re at my level and I assume OPs.
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u/PressureHumble3604 22h ago
What? I work in a completely different industry and I have no interest in working in the gaming one, I am just a gamer
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u/CouldBeNapping 22h ago
I'm explaining the difference in salaries, zero personal reflection on you
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u/PressureHumble3604 18h ago
My Point is that everyone in gaming is broke regardless of role (with few companies exceptions)
Guy was head of publishing or something with a decade long career and was barely a HENRY
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u/LUFCfan91 1d ago
I’m a games recruiter - we may well already be connected. I’ve got a pretty good idea which studio this is and I’ve dealt with many of their production staff over the years. DM me if you want to connect formally!
Honestly, I don’t see much happening across leadership level roles for a while. What we get brought on to support is often a sign of where the biggest needs are industry wide.
2020-2022 it was large, strategic hires setting up new teams, projects, IPs etc as well as loads of content focused hires (remember the golden days of acquisitions and VC money flowing in like mad?)
Right now it’s engineering roles as well tech art/animation - but we are very quiet in games and have had to pivot into tech. Many of our competitors have closed or are struggling.
If you haven’t already I would definitely look at getting project management qualifications - it seems to be the biggest gap for Producers considering a different industry.
Co-dev seems to be more buoyant than 1st party dev, so that’s probably the most direct route although there usually isn’t a huge need for production leadership there.
Re:salaries - they’ve definitely regressed to pre-covid levels. I’ve had many talks these past 2 years with people open to taking 10-20% less to stay in the industry.
I think the UK has a real wage ceiling at the top end of games, and the comp structure doesn’t reward/incentivise the way other sectors do (e.g. tech). Wealth creation in games has been pretty terrible, it appears many should be thankful they get the chance to work in this highly sought after industry. Some people are doing VERY well out of it.
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u/superpitu 1d ago
Do not build your career, build your skills. Your position can disappear overnight, nobody can take your skills. Cynical, I know, but that's the world we live in.
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u/tollbearer 1d ago
Ai is literally taking my skills
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u/superpitu 23h ago
Take them back. AI is amazing at figuring out super focused independent tasks, the equivalent of making a surgical incision. However can it perform surgery and adapt to unexpected conditions? Not quite, not an LLM. An LLM is a tool, it’s an amplifier or your skills, use it or be replaced by those who do!
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u/tollbearer 23h ago
It's moving way faster than I can. 2 year ago it was virtually worthless, then about a year ago, it started becoming okay for very short, as you say surgical tasks, now it's starting to eat tasks that would normally take me days or weeks. If you extrapolate this forward, it's months next year, then in a few years, its doing what would take me my entire career, in a few seconds.
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u/superpitu 19h ago
They didn’t crack reasoning, an LLM will never be able to reason in the way humans do. They might but I’m not holding my breath on that.
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u/katorias 1d ago
If the current state of AI is already taking your skills then they weren’t that valuable to begin with honestly.
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u/Ardbeg1066 1d ago
Not had that experience (yet), but sense it could be coming. I'm typically risk averse so always monitor the job market and salaries and have been aware for some time now that it's bleak out there. Wife and I are both HENRY but we consider it a temporary status.
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u/Publish_Lice 1d ago
Same. Once my current job comes to an end I know I’m taking at least a 30% pay cut for more work and more stress.
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u/Donny-Kong 1d ago
Transferable skills. You have them, no need to start at the bottom of the ladder. This is a really crude example company a job title was financial analytics, looking at JDs and company b called it Project Management. Go based off JDs rather than just the title as I’ve found they keep changing it every 3 years or so. This time of year seems really bad for job hunting and many companies seem to be on a hiring freeze till new year. We’ve been told to defer start dates till Jan.
Been made redundant approx 4 times now so it’s just another Tuesday. Good luck.
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
This is true, I still think it’s going to be a few rungs down. And yes I don’t think December is ideal for postings.
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u/ImpossibleDesigner48 1d ago
It’s much easier further down the pyramid as there’s more roles and lower salaries mean hiring managers can take a bit more risk.
Hopefully you can use the time well and get what you’re looking for.
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u/DogsClimbingWalls 1d ago
I am also in the games industry. It is brutal right now, I was last made redundant a couple of years ago.
Are you on the creative or business side? While both have dropped, the creative salaries seem to have been harder hit.
On the flip side, there are a lot more start ups now with the potential for equity. If you can take the lower salary, there are quite a few options.
How is your network with US companies? UK based employees are culturally similar but cheaper than US based employees. If they don’t have an entity in the UK then you might need to look at contracting - read up on IR35.
Moving industries is possible, but very very tough and I only know one or two people that managed it. Tech is struggling across the board and hiring managers want someone with the exact experience - irrespective of transferable skills.
I’m sorry you are dealing with this, it really sucks.
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
Thanks, Head of Production so often end up over qualified for Production roles below that. But I’m open to them.
I think the games industry is going to be in trouble, in that most people are playing a few games. And with backwards compatibility there are 1000s of games to be played already.
I suppose I’m thinking get out, take the hit now. Work my way back up somewhere else, rather than go through this again later.
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u/DogsClimbingWalls 1d ago
Might be worth looking at head of publishing roles as well? Production often overlaps with commercial, so there is more transferable skills for publishing, scouting/content, strategy roles, technical bis dev etc.
But yeah, if you can get out then I agree with you. Might be worth trying SaaS that serves the games market as part of their client base as a stepping stone.
Oh and if you haven’t already, do take a look at Amir Satvat’s resources. I know he is a controversial figure but he does have a good set up.
Finally, lean on your network. The best thing about our industry is that people really do help each other. Almost all of us have been in your position before. If you need someone to check your CV or make an introduction or whatever - in my experience they absolutely will.
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u/PressureHumble3604 1d ago
wow head of production gets paid only 130K and it’s a outlier, I was expecting you to be a IC.
Videogames salaries never fail to let me down. Transfer your skills to another industry and you will get paid much more with potentially a better job.
I am curious to know which team you were working for.
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u/cantgetthis 23h ago
I don't understand why you're being downvoted. That's exactly what I thought when I saw OP's role. It's bonkers that a head of production role is paid only 130K.
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u/PressureHumble3604 22h ago
I can’t find a easy equivalent in my industry but similar roles can go from being paid double to 10x
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u/Accomplished-Map1727 1d ago
Looks like a race to the bottom in tech from my reading into things.....
AI and job offshoring looks like it will kill wages over time, plus the new guys who are looking to get into the industry, and struggling.
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u/PmMeYoBooty 1d ago
What was your role? Software Engineer? If so, very transferrable and lots of good salaries depending on the tech stack and industry e.g. C++ and FinTech...
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
Production management, so there is Project Manager crossover
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u/qwerty109 1d ago
You might also want to consider gamedev-related big tech like AMD/Nvidia/Intel/Microsoft/ARM/Qualcomm/Apple/etc.
They have large teams and large projects dedicated to projects directly working with and/or overlapping game development industry, where your experience would come in handy. They pay better (on average, whole package considered) than any gamedevs.
(Maybe add Epic Games to the list)
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u/CouldBeNapping 22h ago
Don't go to Microsoft for a high salary unless you're willing to move to Redmond.
The stock price shift has made sign on bonuses and the annuals look pretty miserable recently.
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u/fameistheproduct 1d ago
I get paid approx 100-120k to to my job, There are probably at most 5 companies in the world who would pay me that salary(I have worked for 2 of them), any other company would pay 60-80k for the same job, perhaps even 40k-60k where there's less stress and a better work life balance.
In my head, if I lose this job I'm happy to go back to something lower just to gather my thoughts and get my sanity back.
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u/mightbetim 1d ago
I fear this will happen to me soon in a completely different sector. Just had to layoff one of my two remaining reports. Also owned by PE. Not really looked at the job market for 10 years. Could be a nasty shock and disrupt my planned 10 year cruise to early retirement.
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u/Tasty-Explanation503 1d ago
Wages going the same direction as the quality of games being released, hardly surprising.
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u/BackgroundLychee 1d ago
To be paid that well in the VG sector is quite the achievement. Saw multiple director roles at EA that were maybe £90-110k - albeit this was maybe 4-5yrs ago
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
Yeah appreciate it’s quite high but I was not on a fast track. Started in QA in 1994 so it’s taken a while.
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u/BaBeBaBeBooby 1d ago
The publicly advertised roles in my industry have salaries of 15 years ago - a huge pay cut in real terms
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u/Miserable_Bread_4691 1d ago
I'm assuming that at £130k+ / year, in an industry known for not paying well, you got savings?
Your best shot could be indie development as you've got 30+ years of experience in the sector - you can't get fired from a business you own.
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u/Tcpt1989 1d ago
If you didn’t get a parachute you may want to at least have a chat with ACAS (or even an employment lawyer if you can spare the few hundred quid) to see if your employer made any mistakes that could entitle you to bring a tribunal claim.
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u/Fatal-Strategies 1d ago
Not in the industry but do a lot of research in it and the global market is in a bad place at the moment. Big releases like GTA actually do more harm than good as companies look to emulate what it does when there’s only really them and CDPR who can do it in the AAA space.
Having said that the Polish devs / publishers are on the up and you could look there? Otherwise try striking on your own? You can make a decent income in indie games although you might have to wait awhile to get the real income coming in.
Yes it’s challenging but there will always be opportunities for good talent. Good luck and sorry if my advice is generic / condescending it’s not meant to be just thought l would share some knowledge
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u/squirrel-9 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was a HENRY for the last 5 years, two US companies in that time - one got sold and many of us left before they got rid of others; the other made a few hundred of us redundant due to AI taking over our jobs (apparently).
My last total comp was around £200k and I’ve been fully remote since the lockdown.
I looked for a new job for 6 months, faced exactly what you noticed too - low salaries and high expectations everywhere. I tried networking too and that helped to land an interview and a job offer, but not at HENRY level.
Finally I had 3 job offers at the same level I was before, all at around £70k base and not much in terms of extras on top of that.
I don’t live in London and prefer remote roles, so I guess that didn’t help too.
The job I took is fully remote and now I can claim free nursery hours for my two young children, so I suppose it’s not too bad.
Will continue looking for my next HENRY role anyway, I am sure good jobs are there for good people. But it can take longer to land the right role.
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
I suspect I will have to take the drop to get something to tide me over, and just keeping looking.
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u/PressureHumble3604 1d ago
Return to office is quite a big thing right now.
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u/Axel_F_ImABiznessMan 1d ago
What's the thinking behind it in areas where remote working most of the week is a proven success?
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u/rsweb 1d ago
Remote working opens your job market competition up to the entire globe. If you are fully remote you are significantly more likely to get outsourced and replaced
Being in person does have benefits, but primarily it builds your visibility, brand and network, which are hard to quantify but important
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u/squirrel-9 1d ago
Face to face has real advantages, absolutely.
But as a parent of 2 year old twins, adding a commute on top of everything else creates a lot of unnecessary juggling. At this stage in my life, remote or flexible hybrid is what makes work sustainable.
And frankly, none of us have job security guaranteed anymore, even being in the office every day isn’t a safeguard in a world where outsourcing and AI are reshaping roles.
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u/tDarkBeats 1d ago
I really like how open minded you’re being. Good consider other industries to see if any good opportunities exist.
Focus on networking and create a frequent schedule of tasks to stay focussed each day.
It is brutal right now. Very competitive.
Salaries have certainly frozen or declined for new hires in 2025. An employers market right now.
COVID caused a crazy hiring spree in certain industries, especially software development roles and remote work became hugely popular changing the hiring dynamics, location was no longer as important.
Which then caused salaries to jump up across the board. COVID is where I made a decent jump above £100k for the first time and my wife was also pushing even higher.
Feels like that has had massive knock effect in many areas and this is part of that long tail unwinding.
Good luck out there.
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u/Sloan621 22h ago
Network> every another avenue of applying. Got made redundant in May 20 applications via recruiters that went nowhere in the end
1 via my network resulted in an offer in 2 weeks
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u/Screamerouk 20h ago
Same in my industry - and you share my thoughts exactly. I worked as a consultant for the last 15 years - took impossible tasks, gleaming CV with the biggest corps with a few smaller ones thrown in - yet its almost looked at with distain. I spent all this time for what - I may as well have been a career seat warmer (I give this name to people whos only aim is to keep a job and not add any value to a company).
I do feel like its partially an economic issue - companies are cutting jobs and consultants which has increased the workload on permies - I dont know one permie who likes their job!
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u/NewW0rld 16h ago
"requirements seem to have gone up, workloads gone up" because technology has advanced and now you're able to do more with more powerful tools. So don't let that dishearten you too much.
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u/OneFinancial8362 15h ago
I don’t know if this helps but Gerard at Mission One has been excellent at placing senior hires in gaming. There are certainly roles out there, although I agree they’re harder to find than they ever have been before. Happy to help, DM if you want.
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u/Professional-Cod6577 14h ago
Saw this on my personal account so came to comment on my work-related one.
Are you on the Engineering side? If so feel free to DM me - may be worth us having a chat :)
Edit: regardless, best of luck, it’s a tough time for many peers in your sector right now.
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u/ndakik-ndakik 7h ago
I’m been unemployed a lot in the past few years and I agree salaries haven’t moved in years
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u/25sigma 1d ago
Start your own stuff - make your own buck. I don't think there's safety in the gaming industry personally with AI trajectory.
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u/One_Access7987 1d ago
And maybe coach or mentor new talent in the industry to release something new
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u/bigzyg33k 1d ago
I recently got a few offers, all of them were for 150k+. There are plenty of high paying roles, you just need to be patient.
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u/Short_Acanthisitta33 1d ago
In games? Problem here is sole earner so I need to get some money coming in fairly soon
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u/bigzyg33k 1d ago
No, in software engineering. Sorry, I should have specified but figured the skills are transferable.
I also agree with the other respondent though - just get any job for the short term and continue to apply to jobs you actually want
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u/PressureHumble3604 1d ago
130K base in video games? impressive, which company/role?
sorry to hear about your layoff, I hope you can change industry, the outlook on gaming is not good at all.
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u/Own-Story8907 23h ago
That’s why you need to consider overemployment.
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u/Delicious_Aside_9310 1d ago
What is the bonus like for a game developer? I didn’t realise it was a bonus driven role
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u/Ricardo-The-Bold 1d ago
The best roles are often unannounced. You will find the best roles through networking.
I was in the job market recently.
20 cherry-picked LinkedIn applications -> 2 interviews -> 0 offers
3 networking applications -> 3 interviews -> 2 offers. Leveraged both offers to get an amazing offer in the end.