Microsoft, Supermassive Games, Riot Games. These are the names of a few of the many companies that have not avoided the current wave of layoffs. Sony has now joined this list. According to the official report from Jim Ryan, 900 employees will lose their jobs, which makes about 8% of the total. It does not apply to one specific team or department, positions are cut across the company all over the world.
The goal of internal changes and layoffs is said to be “streamlining resources to ensure continued success and the ability to create the experiences gamers and creators expect from Sony.” In short, a similar situation, as in the case of previous layoffs at other companies.
In a report from Hermen Hulst, we then received clarification regarding which parts of PlayStation Studios were affected. Of the American teams, this includes Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog and support teams. In Europe, Guerrilla Games and Firesprite studios will close. But the PlayStation London studio caught the biggest blow. It will be closed completely.
The London-based studio previously worked mostly on smaller titles and later shifted its focus to virtual reality. From 2022, they are working on a so far unannounced new product, which will therefore never see the light of day. They certainly weren't helped by the fact that the PlayStation VR2 ended up not being a huge success.