Photo courtesy/ Visual China On April 11, 2022, the State Press and Publication Administration released 45 new game versions. It has been 8 months since the suspension of the release of the version number in August last year, and these 8 months have been called "version number winter" by game practitioners. Online games with the reputation of "the ninth art" have long been criticized by society as "electronic heroin". It is precisely because of its duality and the uneven status quo of domestic game products, in recent years, policies such as "underage real-name authentication" and "anti-addiction" have been introduced, and the suspension of the issuance of version numbers is after this.
In such a "cold winter", what is the survival and development status of the game industry? How do industry insiders anticipate the future of the industry? And how do you prepare for this? How did they react after the version number was restored? In order to answer these questions, this issue of "Youth Faction" interviewed two industry insiders.
At 9:43 a.m. on April 12, when he learned that the game version number was resumed, Xiao Luo excitedly wrote in the circle of friends: "New Year' Day, New Year's Day!" As the head of the game field of a headhunting company, Xiao Luo saw fresh graduates full of game ideals in his work; he also saw practitioners who were re-employed after being laid off, incumbents who explored the job market in advance, and job seekers with excellent conditions but were resolutely rejected. The relevant policies and the turmoil in the game market affect their hearts and affect their choices, "but now everyone feels that the cold winter of the game industry has passed and has begun to slowly improve." Luo said.
After the version number is discontinued, the game is refined
The demand for talents is getting higher and higher
Xiao Luo's responsibilities are mainly to meet the needs of both job seekers and customer companies, and the positions he is responsible for include original artists, battle planners, and data planners in the field of game development. She looks at 50 to 70 resumes a day on various job search platforms and selects 3 to 5 to recommend client companies.
Xiao Luo's language in the interview is vivid and humorous, belonging to the type that does not "drop the words on the ground", and the conversation shows the liveliness and humor of her life everywhere. She told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that such a personality is one of the reasons why she chose to come to the game field as a headhunter half a year ago. Here, she doesn't need to treat candidates and clients with a formal, serious tone like a headhunter in other fields. She would come up with the candidate who came to apply for the job and say, "I must 'sell' you for a good price." When confronted with a candidate whose qualifications do not meet the requirements, she will say to the other party: "When you have developed a fat turnip, I will 'sell' you for a good price." The other party responded to her with "If you 'sell' me for a good price, I will invite you to dinner."
Xiao Luo observed that since the suspension of the release of the version in August last year, the personnel needs of the game company have changed. "These companies have fewer new games, and everyone is refining their existing games and pursuing their own unique advantages." As a result, game companies are more demanding of candidates. "Some candidates' conditions were put in the past, and it was no problem to push them to the company, but now they push them over, and they may not get the opportunity to interview." Xiao Luo said.
Xiao Luo recalled that she had met a candidate for an original painter who had worked in a well-known factory. This candidate's work has won awards, and Xiao Luo also judged her qualifications based on experience, so he recommended her to a company. Unexpectedly, the company replied in seconds: "This person is not suitable." Xiao Luo said that because the company did not think her work was very good.
Big factories choose to shrink the front
The flow of talent in the industry has become faster
Still, Luo found that job seekers in the gaming industry have not decreased, in a sense even more. "Many of the version numbers issued by the state belong to small and medium-sized companies, while large companies that have not obtained version numbers will have to cut some projects, and some people will leave the company." Among the 45 new version numbers issued in April this year, most of them are the projects of small and medium-sized game manufacturers, while large manufacturers such as Tencent Games and NetEase Games have not received version numbers.
In fact, from 2017 to 2021, the number of domestic game version numbers issued annually decreased year after year, from 9369 models to 755 models. From August last year to March this year, the game industry spent eight consecutive months of empty window periods, and no one knows when the release of version numbers will be resumed. Under such a trend, many large manufacturers choose to shrink the front line and concentrate on mature game IP or market hot themes. Correspondingly, some practitioners return to the job market.
At the same time, in the context of the general layoffs in large factories, many gamers are planning ahead and looking for opportunities in advance as insurance. For various reasons, "the flow of talent in the game industry has become faster than before."
After the game version number is released
The number of jobs has increased
Since the release of 87 editions on July 22, 2021, in the following 8 months, the State Press and Publication Administration has not released the edition number, which has been called "edition winter" by gamers. After 263 days, on April 11 this year, the "Game Approval Results" column of the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration was updated, and 45 version numbers were announced. "My feeling at the time was that the game people were new to the New Year. Not only me, but also the people around me are also jubilant, and everyone feels that the cold winter of the industry has passed. Xiao Luo told the Beiqing Daily reporter that there are many gamers around her who have planned to leave the game field, and after they heard the news, they felt that the game industry was "alive" again, so they reconsidered the problem of staying.
After the version number was resumed, Xiao Luo felt that the number of jobs offered by various companies had increased, which made her more obvious that the industry was developing for the better. "I hope that the game people who have not yet landed, whether they are fresh graduates or practitioners, will not be overly anxious." The current situation is caused by the turmoil in the industry and the economic downturn under the epidemic. Now that the version number has been released, there will be more posts in the future, and I hope that everyone will not be too pessimistic. Luo said.
The gaming industry is getting better and better
Rough games fade out of the market
Most of the candidates for Xiaoluo's docking are post-90s and post-00s. In his contact with them, Xiao Luo observed that they were basically veteran players, and even used to be "Internet addicted teenagers" in the eyes of their parents, while on the inner level, they all had similar "game dreams".
"The post-90s and post-00s are Internet natives, and many of them have been exposed to games since childhood and have their own understanding of games." Xiao Luo said, "After entering the industry, they will prefer to do a good job in the game, while resisting some games with rough workmanship and poor content, which is the dream of this generation of gamers." ”
Among these candidates, some of the better conditions will also have a higher vision of the position, "they are more willing to choose projects according to their favorite and good areas." ”
The ambition of these young people has given Xiao Luo more confidence in the future of the industry. She believes that along with the trend of younger game practitioners, the industry is pursuing higher and higher game quality. "China does not yet have its own AAA game (AAA games are simply games with high development costs, long development cycles, and high resource consumption), but in the future, the industry will get better and better, and rough games will slowly fade out of the market."