Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony is laying off around 900 people from PlayStation Studios, affecting Insomniac Games, Guerrilla Games, Naughty Dog and more.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it’s laying off roughly 900 workers, which make up 8% of the company’s staff in total. President and CEO Jim Ryan (who will soon be replaced by PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst) announced the mass layoffs this week, impacting PlayStation Studios developers like Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games and Guerrilla Games.
The VR-focused London Studio is also being shut down for good as a result of these cuts.
Mass layoffs happening at PlayStation Studios
This week’s mass layoffs at PlayStation Studios will affect its workers worldwide, not just the ones based in the United States. According to a news release from Ryan, the company will need to enter a period of consultation in line with United Kingdom labour laws before firings are made official in the region. In Japan, fired employees will have access to a career support program. In the United States, workers will simply be notified of their employment status by Tuesday this week. All employees will receive support including severance benefits, so there’s that at least.
In the release, Ryan explained:
These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success, and we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead. We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.
The release also calls out specific studios impacted by these layoffs. London Studio, which last put out the VR game Blood & Truth in 2019, will close for good. Firesprite, which was recently acquired by Sony in 2021, will also see ‘reductions’. Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog and Guerrilla Games will also be impacted by a “reduction in workforce,” along with Sony’s technology, creative and support teams.
These layoffs also mean that multiple videogame projects in the works at PlayStation Studios have been cancelled. In a separate news release, company head Hermen Hulst confirmed that “We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and have decided that some of those projects will not move forward,” later adding that, “Sometimes, great ideas don't become great games.” A Bloomberg report confirmed that one of these cancelled projects was a new Twisted Metal live-service game in development at Firesprite. London Studio also had an online game in development, but it’s likely been shuttered along with the studio.
According to a games industry tracker, an estimated 7100 people have been laid off in the first two months of 2024 alone. For comparison, over 10,500 people were laid off in the entirety of 2023. We haven't even hit March yet! It’s a rough year for the industry as companies continue to tighten their belts after a long period of overhiring and increased game budgets, and it hasn’t shown any signs of improvement yet. Right after the Sony layoffs were announced, Deck Nine Games (Life is Strange: True Colors) announced staff cuts as well. Just last month, Microsoft fired 1,900 Activision Blizzard staff members and cancelled an in-development survival game.