Nintendo proves that exclusives work for both. The difference is they were smarter in their handling of hardware. Many people gripe at them for not going with more power, but they saw the writing on the wall years ago and adjusted. Sony did the same with their 1st party output. It made their platform far more valuable.
As to the notion of exclusives, Xbox jumped on the PC bandwagon long ago, because what they were doing wasn't working. This is despite the revenue they bring in on the platform. Bringing once PC/Xbox only games to other consoles is another move in response to a failing strat. The parent company sees their issues (which are specific to them) and decided that was the best logical move. So long as other console owners buy the games, they should see an uptick in returns.
PlayStation's situation is more complicated, because they have the market/mindshare in check, but have other things they need to work on, in addition to, weathering the financial storms plaguing many right now. Out of 100%, 75-80% of what they do works, but the leftovers are beginning to take form and it's hurting them a bit. So, what will they do? Their single player games will remain exclusive (on a duration, 6m-1y) for a while, but in the future (PS6 and beyond), we could see that change. Like Nintendo, console hardware sales still matter greatly to them and they know releasing everything day/date on another platform will start to eat away at that. Their GaaS games? Day/date PC/PS release. No question — especially after Helldivers 2.
To layoffs on a broad scale — it isn't gaming specific. The IT industry, for example, has seen massive cuts, but you'd never hear as much about that as you would entertainment industries — which includes gaming. But this is business, and many things will bounce back. Layoffs, reductions, cancellations, and revisions are all normal and happen much more than people know. Right now, it's just happening at a higher rate and to more companies/industries at a given point and a lot of that, lest we forget, is also a result of the crippling global pandemic we're still being affected by. And yes, AI will also step in and play a factor in many things going forward. The gaming industry, in particular, has a way of bouncing back when the goings get tough.
