Amazon Games is letting go of 180 people who work on making video games. This is happening because they want to change how the company works. They also closed their own video channel on Twitch, a website where people watch others play games, because not many people were watching it. Lots of other places that make games are also letting people go, with over 6,500 people losing their jobs this year, even though there are new and fun games coming out.

When the coronavirus made people stay home, they played a lot of video games. So, companies that make games got bigger and hired more people. Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other companies that make games. But now, people are not buying as many games because they can go outside again. So, the companies that make games have to spend less money, and that means some people lose their jobs.

Even though some people are losing their jobs, there are still many great games to play this year. There are new adventures and stories in games about heroes and magical lands. But the problem is that making these games costs a lot of money, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games. So they have to find ways to spend less money, and sometimes that means they can’t keep all their workers.

Original news source: Amazon latest firm to cut jobs in gaming industry (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide students into two teams. Write down key terms from the article (e.g., “video games,” “Twitch,” “layoff,” “coronavirus,” “adventure,” “magical lands”) on individual slips of paper. One student from a team draws the term without speaking or writing words or numbers, while their team tries to guess the word within a time limit. Alternate between teams for each term.

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Pair up students and assign them the roles of a news reporter and a company spokesperson. The reporter interviews the spokesperson about the layoffs at Amazon Games and the state of the gaming industry using information from the article. Encourage students to use their own words to explain the situation and to ask follow-up questions.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Write statements on the board like “Video games are important for entertainment,” “Companies should always avoid layoffs,” and “The gaming industry is unpredictable.” Ask students to stand along a line in the classroom according to how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement. Then, select students from different points on the spectrum to share their opinions and reasons.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Ask students to draw a simple scene or object related to the article on the board or on paper (e.g., a person playing video games, a Twitch stream, an employee receiving the news of a layoff). The rest of the class guesses what aspect of the article the drawing represents. This encourages students to recall and visualize the content they read.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students discuss in small groups or pairs what they think will happen in the gaming industry based on the trends mentioned in the article. Prompt them with questions like, “Do you think more companies will have layoffs?” or “What kinds of video games do you think will be popular in the future?” After the discussion, each group can share their predictions with the class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. How many people is Amazon Games letting go from their video game making team?
2. Why did Amazon Games close their video channel on Twitch?
3. How many people have lost their jobs in the video game industry this year?
4. Why did video game companies get bigger during the coronavirus?
5. What did Amazon do with the money they spent in the gaming industry?
6. Why are people not buying as many games now compared to before?
7. What is one problem that video game companies are facing when making new games?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Amazon Games is letting go of 180 (1)______ who work on making video games. This is happening because they want to change how the company works. They also closed their own video channel on Twitch, a website where people (2)______ others play games, because not many people were watching it. Lots of other places that (3)______ games are also letting people go, with over 6,500 people losing their jobs this year, even though there are new and fun games coming out.

When the coronavirus made people stay home, they (4)______ a lot of (5)______ games. So, companies that make games got bigger and hired more people. (6)______ spent a lot of money to buy other (7)______ that make games. But now, people are not buying as (8)______ games because they can go outside again. So, the companies that make games have to (9)______ less money, and that means some people lose their jobs.

Even though some people are losing their jobs, there are still many great games to play this year. There are new adventures and stories in games about heroes and magical lands. But the problem is that (10)______ these games costs a lot of money, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games. So they (11)______ to find ways to spend less money, and sometimes that (12)______ they can’t keep all their workers.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a video game?
2. How would you feel if you lost your job?
3. Do you like to play video games? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s sad when people lose their jobs? Why?
5. What is Twitch?
6. Have you ever watched someone play video games on the internet? Did you like it?
7. Why do you think people played more video games when they had to stay home?
8. Do you think it’s a good idea for companies to spend a lot of money to make video games? Why or why not?
9. What do you like to do outside when you are not playing video games?
10. Do you think it is important for companies to make new games even if they lose money? Why?
11. Can you imagine a magical land? What would it be like?
12. What would you do if you were in charge of a company that makes video games?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Amazon Games
2. video games
3. Twitch
4. people
5. companies
6. jobs
7. games
8. money

Meanings:
(a) Currency or a way to buy things and pay for services
(b) A company that makes and sells games
(c) Interactive electronic entertainment that you play on a screen
(d) Humans who play and enjoy games
(e) Fun activities that you can play on your computer or console
(f) A website where you can watch other people play games
(g) Businesses that create and sell products or services
(h) Employment or work that people do to earn money
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why is Amazon Games letting go of 180 people?
(a) They are not good at making video games.
(b) They want to change how the company works.
(c) They want to hire new people.
(d) They are closing down.

2. What is Twitch?
(a) A website where people watch others play games.
(b) A company that makes video games.
(c) A place where people buy video games.
(d) A website where people watch movies.

3. Why did Amazon close their video channel on Twitch?
(a) They wanted to make a new video channel.
(b) They wanted to sell it to another company.
(c) Not many people were watching it.
(d) They were losing money from it.

4. Why are many game-making companies letting people go?
(a) They are not making enough money from selling games.
(b) They have to spend less money.
(c) They want to hire new people.
(d) They are closing down.

5. Why did game-making companies get bigger during the coronavirus?
(a) They bought other companies.
(b) They hired more people to make more games.
(c) They wanted to make more money.
(d) People played a lot of video games when they stayed home.

6. Why are people not buying as many games now?
(a) They don’t like the new games.
(b) They don’t have enough money.
(c) They can go outside again.
(d) They are playing too many games.

7. Why do game-making companies have to spend less money?
(a) They want to save money for other things.
(b) They want to buy new companies.
(c) They want to hire more people.
(d) They are not making enough money back when they sell the games.

8. Why do game-making companies sometimes have to let workers go?
(a) They have to find ways to spend less money.
(b) They want to close down.
(c) They want to hire new workers.
(d) They want to make more money.

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Amazon Games is laying off 180 people who make video games because they want to change how the company works.
2. Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other game companies.
3. Many game companies are also hiring more people, with over 6,500 people gaining new jobs this year.
4. People are buying more games now because they can go outside again.
5. People didn’t play a lot of video games when they had to stay home due to the coronavirus.
6. Amazon Games closed their video channel on Twitch because not many people were watching it.
7. Making games costs a little money, and some companies are making enough money back when they sell the games.
8. Game companies got bigger and hired more people during the pandemic.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why is Amazon Games saying goodbye to 180 people?
2. What is Twitch and why did Amazon Games close their channel there?
3. Why did video game companies hire more people during the coronavirus?
4. What is happening now that people can go outside again?
5. What is the big problem for companies that make video games even though there are new games to play?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How many people is Amazon Games letting go from their video game making team?
Amazon Games is letting go of 180 people from their team that makes video games.

2. Why did Amazon Games close their video channel on Twitch?
They closed it because not enough people were watching their channel.

3. How many people have lost their jobs in the video game industry this year?
Over 6,500 people have lost their jobs in the video game industry this year.

4. Why did video game companies get bigger during the coronavirus?
Video game companies got bigger because people had to stay home and played a lot of video games.

5. What did Amazon do with the money they spent in the gaming industry?
Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other companies that make video games.

6. Why are people not buying as many games now compared to before?
People are not buying as many games now because they can go outside again and do other things.

7. What is one problem that video game companies are facing when making new games?
One problem is that it costs a lot of money to make new games, and the companies are not making enough money back when they sell the games.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) people
(2) watch
(3) make
(4) played
(5) video
(6) Amazon
(7) companies
(8) many
(9) spend
(10) making
(11) have
(12) means
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Amazon Games
Answer: (b) A company that makes and sells games

2. video games
Answer: (c) Interactive electronic entertainment that you play on a screen

3. Twitch
Answer: (f) A website where you can watch other people play games

4. people
Answer: (d) Humans who play and enjoy games

5. companies
Answer: (g) Businesses that create and sell products or services

6. jobs
Answer: (h) Employment or work that people do to earn money

7. games
Answer: (e) Fun activities that you can play on your computer or console

8. money
Answer: (a) Currency or a way to buy things and pay for services
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why is Amazon Games letting go of 180 people?
Answer: (b) They want to change how the company works.

2. What is Twitch?
Answer: (a) A website where people watch others play games.

3. Why did Amazon close their video channel on Twitch?
Answer: (c) Not many people were watching it.

4. Why are many game-making companies letting people go?
Answer: (b) They have to spend less money.

5. Why did game-making companies get bigger during the coronavirus?
Answer: (d) People played a lot of video games when they stayed home.

6. Why are people not buying as many games now?
Answer: (c) They can go outside again.

7. Why do game-making companies have to spend less money?
Answer: (d) They are not making enough money back when they sell the games.

8. Why do game-making companies sometimes have to let workers go?
Answer: (a) They have to find ways to spend less money.
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Amazon Games is laying off 180 people who make video games because they want to change how the company works. (Answer: True)
2. Amazon spent a lot of money to buy other game companies. (Answer: True)
3. Many game companies are also hiring more people, with over 6,500 people gaining new jobs this year. (Answer: False)
4. People are buying more games now because they can go outside again. (Answer: False)
5. People didn’t play a lot of video games when they had to stay home due to the coronavirus. (Answer: False)
6. Amazon Games closed their video channel on Twitch because not many people were watching it. (Answer: True)
7. Making games costs a little money, and some companies are making enough money back when they sell the games. (Answer: False)
8. Game companies got bigger and hired more people during the pandemic. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧