PlayStation has announced plans to lay off 900 people worldwide as part of an 8% reduction in the company’s total headcount. Multiple PlayStation-owned studios – including Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog and Guerilla Games – will be affected, with PlayStation Studios’ London studio closing entirely.
The news is the latest in what has been a dire year for layoffs in the gaming industry so far, with Microsoft laying off 1,900 employees from its video game division in late January and Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games joining the growing list of layoffs . Some studios let their employees leave just yesterday.
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In a blog post on Sony Interactive Entertainment’s website, SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan confirmed: “We have made the extremely difficult decision to announce plans to begin reducing our sales globally by approximately 8% or approximately 900 employees, subject to local legal and advisory processes. Employees around the world, including our studios, will be affected.”
He went on to acknowledge that those being laid off were “very talented people” and spoke of the resonance behind the layoffs: “The industry has changed dramatically and we need to prepare for the future and prepare the business for the future. Prepare. “
The post included a copy of an email Ryan sent to PlayStation employees outlining the scope of the layoffs. In it, and in another post from PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, it was confirmed that a number of PlayStation studios would be affected by the proposed layoffs, with Europe specifically seeing PlayStation Studios’ London studio as “completely closed”, as well as Horizon and Horizon Studios. Forbidden West developers Guerrilla Games and Firesprite Studios are seeing “downsizing.”
In the U.S., Hulst said Marvel’s Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games and The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog will both be “affected by reduced workforces,” along with PlayStation’s U.S.-based “technical, creative and support teams.” Influence. area.
Ryan confirmed in the post that the company’s employees across all regions, including Europe, the Americas and Asia, will be affected, saying: “Affected employees will receive support, including severance packages.”
London Studio was founded in 2002 and has developed a number of first-party PlayStation games over the years, including the SingStar series and several PSVR games such as Blood and Truth and PlayStation VR Worlds.
