The video games industry is in a peculiar position right now. We’re a few years off from the pandemic, which saw a boom in the industry. Countless video game consoles and titles were being purchased to provide entertainment while we were social distancing. However, now that we have a better handle on things, it looks like the industry is having a struggle to get in order. We’ve seen countless layoffs, game projects being killed, and even studios shutting down completely.
We’re always hopeful things turn around for the better, but recently, one prominent voice actor has taken to the web and vented their frustrations. Elias Toufexis is an actor who has also voiced on several titles in the past. Outside of acting in film or television series, you can hear Elias’ voice in projects like Starfield as Sam Coe, Oswald Cobblepot from Gotham Knights, and Vince in As Dusk Falls, among several others. However, Elias noted that this has been a disaster zone for the games industry right now.
In a recent post on the X social media platform, Elias noted that a game from the Deus Ex franchise was canceled, another massive game that they were both acting and directing was canceled, and a third project where he would again take similar roles was being reworked with a brand new team. Later on, Elias went on to say that there were a few other game projects that he felt would be canceled by the end of the week. Of course, Elias goes on to say that he’s fortunate to have several irons in the fire, but games are just in a weird place right now.
It’s not surprising to see these comments come out, as we’ve reported on countless issues in the industry. Even at the start of this year, we had to report on the mass layoffs within the Xbox gaming division. There are even concerns that the outlook for Xbox is grim. Fortunately, we know that there is a business update event planned next week that should hopefully clarify what Microsoft’s plans are for the future of Xbox. But again, we’re certainly hoping things are going to turn around for the industry, and we’ll see another boom rather than the onslaught of layoffs, cancelations, and studio shutdowns.
