Bigger in size and broader in scope with the inclusion of animation company data, the comprehensive research report, available as a free download, is packed with clear, concise, and easy to digest information that charts and assesses 2,450 companies within the global animation and VFX industries.
Nine months after releasing the first Visual Effects World Atlas, VFX industry veteran Joseph Bell has returned with an even bigger and broader research report that includes animation studios for the first time, now dubbed the 2025 Visual Effects & Animation World Atlas.It’s packed with graphs and analysis focused on key hub cities, countries and continents as well as job types, remote work trends, hiring activity and gender balance.
Like its predecessor, the report is available as a free download.Long frustrated by the shortage of clear, objective information about the VFX industry, Bell published his inaugural research report and overview of the artists who work in the global visual effects industry in December 2024.He has continued his groundbreaking work with the release of a new report quantifying and sizing the global animation and visual effects industries, looking at data involving 120,000 professionals and 2,450 companies.
Asked about the biggest changes and trends he’s seen over the last year, Bell tells AWN, “The VFX and Animation industry continued to experience significant volatility over the past 12 months.Globally, the industry grew by almost 10% in the second half of last year, a partial rebound from the larger decrease in content commissioning that took place during and after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes.The trend then reversed in the first half of 2025, and the industry today is approximately the same size as it was 12 months ago, at least in terms of headcount.
Production levels remain well below their peak in 2022.” He adds, “Technicolor was one of the largest employers in the industry when the group collapsed in February of this year.The city most impacted was their longtime production hub in Bangalore. Technicolor studios in Europe and North America were either acquired (along with Technicolor Games in India) or relaunched.” Explaining that the closing of Technicolor and the Irish studio, Axis, for example, should be analyzed carefully, Bell shares, “It’s tempting to view high-profile studio closures as a sign that the industry is in decline.However, the reality is more nuanced.
Over the past year, numerous new VFX and animation studios have launched, often in the same locations where established companies recently shut down.Many of these new ventures are led by executives and talent from studios that closed in the same location just months, weeks, or even days before.They are able to secure financial backing, and sometimes inherit projects and clients directly from the shuttered studios.
While new ventures don’t diminish the shock of hundreds or thousands of people losing jobs overnight, it’s clear that you can still find plenty of people who see a future in leading and financing VFX, animation, and post-production companies.” Highlights of the new report include: The latest data from June 2025 shows that the VFX and Animation industry globally is the same size today as it was 12 months ago.Key learnings: Globally, the industry grew 9.3% in the second half of last year… and then lost almost all of that growth in the first half of this year.Net growth over the past 12 months is just 1%.
At the country level: Australia and New Zealand show the strongest growth among major Hollywood VFX markets (up 11% and 20% YOY.NZ is due to one very big company, Wētā FX, ramping up.) India and France grew slightly (4%). The US, UK, and Canada contracted slightly (2% - 5%). While studios are undoubtedly experimenting with AI tools in production, the Atlas data shows no evidence this has significantly impacted employment in VFX and Animation (so far).Bell provides a unique voice in visual effects, combining 20 years of hands-on experience at some of the most respected studios in the field – including Industrial Light & Magic, The Mill, and FuseFX – with a global view of industry trends and business dynamics.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
The ‘Visual Effects World Atlas’: A Data-Driven Look at the VFX Industry
VFX Veteran Joseph Bell Releases the ‘Visual Effects World Atlas’
