Why Your Hiring Funnel Is Failing (Games Industry Edition, 2026)
The invisible reasons studios struggle to hire and how to fix them.
Introduction: If You're Struggling to Hire, You're Not Alone
Across 2024–2025 games studios from 10-person indies to global AAA teams, have experienced the same hiring frustration:
- “We’re getting applicants… but almost none of them are right.”
- “Good candidates drop out before the final stage.”
- “Senior engineers accept offers elsewhere before we can react.”
- “The talent exists, so why can’t we hire it?”
The answer: your hiring funnel isn’t broken because of talent shortages. It’s broken because of avoidable structural problems inside the studio.
This article breaks down the 7 biggest reasons hiring funnels fail, specifically in the games and iGaming industry, and what studios can do to fix them.
1. You’re Attracting the Wrong Candidates Up Front
Most job ads in the games industry read like:
- A wishlist
- A legacy job description someone copy/pasted
- A mash-up of three old specifications
- A vague role with unclear expectations
This results in:
- Too many unsuitable applications
- Zero interest from high-quality talent
- Misaligned expectations from day one
Fix it
✔️ Create a clean, modern role profile.
✔️ Describe outcomes and responsibilities, not a shopping list of skills.
✔️ Remove unnecessary requirements.
✔️ Sell the studio: culture, mission, progression.
✔️ Add salary ranges to avoid instant drop-off.
2. Your Process Is Too Slow for Today’s Market
This is the number one reason studios lose top candidates.
If your process looks like:
- CV review
- Hiring manager review
- First call
- Technical test
- Review
- Second interview
- Team interview
- Exec sign-off
- Offer
…you will often lose senior candidates to a faster competitor.
Fix it
✔️ Limit the funnel to three stages.
✔️ Use live technical interviews instead of long take-home tests.
✔️ Pre-book interview slots.
✔️ Give feedback within 24–48 hours.
3. Your Technical Tests Are Too Long, Too Generic, or Unpaid
Nothing destroys a hiring funnel faster than:
❌ Eight-hour take-home tests
❌ Tests unrelated to real work
❌ Exercises that feel like free labour
❌ Generic coding puzzles that don’t evaluate actual skills required for the job applied for.
❌ Tests given too early in the process
Senior candidates simply refuse to do them and/or become disillusioned with the process.
Fix it
✔️ Replace take-home tests with a 60–90 minute live technical session.
✔️ Use real code, files, or assets when safe.
✔️ Pay candidates for extensive take-home assignments.
✔️ Test practical ability, not academic puzzles.
4. You’re Not Selling the Studio or the Project Properly
High-level candidates have options. Most studios underestimate how much they need to pitch the role.
If you're not communicating:
- Project vision
- Team size & structure
- Technical challenges
- Learning opportunities
- Roadmap stability
- Culture & leadership style
- Salary progression
- Hybrid/remote flexibility
Fix it
✔️ Add a “Why join us?” section to every JD.
✔️ Ensure hiring managers can articulate vision.
✔️ Be honest about challenges (top candidates love this).
✔️ Use recruiters to champion your story.
5. Your Compensation Package Isn’t Competitive for 2026
The market has moved. Salaries have risen, and candidates know their worth.
Common issues:
❌ Salaries 10–20% below market
❌ No clear progression or review cycles
❌ Weak relocation packages
❌ No signing bonuses for hard to fill roles
❌ Salary bands too narrow to attract seniors
Fix it
✔️ Benchmark salaries annually by region.
✔️ Create transparent progression pathways.
✔️ Add benefits that support remote teams.
✔️ Consider performance bonuses for senior hires.
✔️ Use realistic midpoints, not lowball ranges.
6. You’re Using a Generalist Agency or No Agency at All
Games recruitment is extremely niche. Most generalist recruiters don’t understand:
- Engines (UE5, Unity)
- Multiplayer architecture
- LiveOps pipelines
- iGaming math modelling
- Mobile UA/Analytics roles
- Animation pipelines
- Console certification
- The difference between Senior, Lead, Principal, Director
The result?
❌ Wrong candidates
❌ Delays
❌ Poor shortlists
❌ Misalignment with hiring managers
Fix it
✔️ Use a specialist games or iGaming agency.
✔️ Ask for market intel + salary validation.
✔️ Request candidate coverage stats.
✔️ Demand understanding of your tech stack.
7. Your Interviewers Aren’t Trained (The Cost Nobody Talks About)
Interviewers are often:
- Brilliant at their craft
- Poor at interviewing
- Unsure how to assess soft skills
- Biased without realising
- Unclear on process
Fix it
✔️ Train interviewers in behavioural techniques.
✔️ Create scoring rubrics.
✔️ Use consistent criteria for all candidates.
✔️ Align on must-haves vs nice-to-haves.
✔️ Run interview calibration sessions.
8. You’re Not Tracking Funnel Data, So Problems Go Hidden
Most studios cannot answer:
- Where do we lose candidates?
- Which stage has the highest drop-off?
- Which interviewers reject the most candidates?
- How long each stage takes
- Which channels produce the best hires
Fix it
✔️ Track conversion rates at each stage.
✔️ Use ATS reporting properly (Greenhouse, Workable, Team Tailor).
✔️ Report funnel health weekly.
✔️ Assign ownership to hiring managers.
Summary: Your Hiring Funnel Isn’t Failing Because the Talent Isn’t There, it’s Failing Because the Process Is
To attract and close world-class talent in 2026, your hiring funnel must be:
✔️ Clear
✔️ Fast
✔️ Candidate-friendly
✔️ Technically meaningful
✔️ Competitive
✔️ Well-structured
✔️ Data-driven
Studios that master this win top talent. Studios that don’t lose it to bigger, faster, more polished competitors.
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