Overview
- Amir Satvat awarded TGA’s “Game Changer”for aiding 3,000 job seekers.
- Satvat faces backlash linked to his affiliation with Tencent, amidst widespread industry layoffs.
- This year’s accolades focused on Satvat’s achievements, intentionally leaving out employer details.
Amir Satvat, honored with the Game Changer award at The Game Awards 2024, is currently enduring a storm of online harassment. This new acknowledgment recognizes Satvat’s valuable contributions during a particularly challenging period for the gaming industry, where layoffs have become alarmingly frequent.
The past few years have witnessed an unprecedented wave of job losses in gaming, with approximately 34,000 positions eliminated over three years, as noted by Satvat. During this tumultuous time, many individuals have utilized a shared Google Sheets document that tracks hiring opportunities in gaming companies, which Satvat helped transform into a comprehensive website dedicated to connecting job seekers and employers. Through this initiative, nearly 3,000 people have successfully secured employment.
A seasoned game developer and the Business Development Director at Tencent, Satvat has invested over 2,000 hours into his Games Community initiative. This dedication rightfully earned him the inaugural “Game Changer”award. In his acceptance speech, Satvat emphasized that “You can’t make great games without great people,”highlighting the detrimental effects of rampant layoffs on game development. Despite this achievement, Satvat’s moment of triumph has quickly turned sour, as he has been subject to a barrage of hateful comments and negative media coverage. Reflecting on this experience, he lamented in a LinkedIn post, “This is the ‘reward’ for two years of service.”
Online Backlash Against The Game Awards’ ‘Game Changer’ Recipient
Satvat disclosed that he has received a plethora of harmful messages across various social media platforms, with some targeting his family as well. Much of the negativity directed at him includes anti-Semitic rhetoric—despite Satvat not being Jewish, his wife is, which has seemingly fueled the vitriol. The primary source of this animosity, according to Satvat, is his employment at Tencent, which was notably absent from the award’s presentation. Skeptics accuse him of being an opportunist or a corporate pawn; however, Satvat points out that his job placement project was initiated long before he joined Tencent. He insists that the omission of his employer’s name was simply to spotlight the achievements that warranted the award.
Part of the disdain directed at Tencent arises from the company’s significant role in the recent layoffs plaguing the industry. Notably, in November, a Tencent subsidiary responsible for the game Exoborne, Sharkmob, announced the cancellation of an unannounced project, leading to widespread job losses. Prior to this, layoffs at Tequila Works, also under Tencent’s umbrella, occurred after an unannounced game was shelved. The narrative surrounding layoffs paints a dire picture, reflecting ongoing instability across many studios, further emphasizing the urgency for initiatives like Satvat’s to support job seekers in the gaming industry.
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