Why are there still so many game studios in California?

[Kantor]

Procrastinato said:

Kantor said:
If a developer needs to cut costs, they can cut salaries without packing up and moving halfway across the country.

You're kind of thinking of developers as robots who will put up with that kind of treatment, with this statement.

There is fierce, fierce demand for experienced devs in the games industry.  It has a high burnout rate, and those able to weather the taxing workload long enough to become senior, experienced devs are not folks you can cut the salary on.

Likewise, newbie developers, while they have lots of energy, struggle so much with the details of game development (without guidance from experienced devs), that hiring them alone isn't really a valid option, either.

I think a $20,000 salary cut would be more popular with the developers than a $20,000 salary cut AND moving to Texas.

They would lose employees either way, of course, but if they have to cut costs, they have to cut costs, and better a smaller salary than no job.