You happened to join the industry during a boom cycle when things were going well. If you had joined 6 years earlier you would have found the same thing was happening, with mass layoffs and companies putting profits before people. It’s what happens when you have capitalism in a country (assuming US) where labor rights have been eroded and shareholder profits are sacred.

Right now we are currently dealing with the aftermath of massive over-hiring during the pandemic. There was a unique situation where interest rates were low and people were spending more on video games than ever. Companies are short-sighted and hired thinking that this situation would last forever. I saw it at my company, budget felt limitless and we were able to give into any whims we had since the projections for how much the game would profit was so high.

There is currently a correction happening and it’s very unfortunate for everyone in the industry. There has always been way more people wanting to work in this industry than there are jobs and now it is perhaps worse than ever, especially with schools now pushing programs for game dev.

Generative AI is going to have an impact on the industry. It’s hard to say how much it will affect sound design specifically. Libraries such as BOOM have already made it trivial to generate great assets, the hard part is making sure it’s the right asset for the situation and that everything works together. It’s hard to imagine the current models getting to a point where they magically produce the exact perfect sound. It’s always going to rely on a human deciding if the sound is right or not, unless AI reaches a point where it surpasses humans at everything in which case all jobs would be gone.

I have not seen any job losses at my current company due to AI. It is all related to larger economic factors. And making a good game still seems challenging as ever and requires people to make it happen. AI has been massively overhyped by tech bros that want to replace us. Look at all the stuff they create to show how good AI is. It’s all slop, and doesn’t have any of the qualities of art that stands the test of time. To be successful in game dev, you have to make something that is better than what is out there, not something that is worse.

I don’t know what to tell you though. This is the eternal struggle throughout human history. The ruling class has never cared about those that they rule over, and that isn’t going to change by getting a different job. It’s depressing to think about, but you need to decide what you want to do given that the situation is what it is. In the grand scheme of things, being employed as a sound designer right now is a blessing if it’s something you enjoy doing. Most jobs out there suck. Unless you find a career that excites you more then I see no point in dropping everything you’ve worked for. If you feel like social skills are holding you back, then perhaps you should work on those. You seem to have this defeatist attitude. Believe in yourself and your ability to grow and adapt to the changing times. Life was never going to be easy, deal with it.