Despite having a roster of blockbuster single-player releases under its belt, Sony hasn’t managed to hit the same success cadence with its live service experiences. Following the massive loss of Concord, it seems Sony is reevaluating many of its multiplayer plans for its studios, and teams that worked on those projects are seemingly being downsized. This wave of layoffs at Sony joins the over 900 staff it cut in 2024.
First reported by Kotaku, the PlayStation first-party developer Visual Arts has been hit by layoffs this week, though its sources have said that the teams being affected are more “widespread” than that.
While Sony is yet to comment on the matter, and it’s unclear just how many are affected, LinkedIn posts by current and former PlayStation developers have confirmed that layoffs are currently happening across teams.
“It was tough waking up to messages that many friends and former coworkers from PSVA were laid off this morning,” says former Visual Arts project manager Abby LeMaster in a post. “The layoffs today hit hard. PSVA let go of developers with decades of subject matter expertise; talent that will be extraordinarily difficult to recoup. This industry can be unpredictable, but the skill, experience, and passion of the people I worked with at PSVA are undeniable.”
In the past, the studio had supported the development of franchises like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Per Kotaku, Bend Studio’s recently canceled live service venture set in the God of War universe was receiving support from the Visual Arts team.
At the same time, PlayStation Studios Malaysia roles are seemingly being cut too. Senior project manager Johann Affendy Mahfoor at the studio has confirmed that “a wave” of workforce reductions has hit the support studio, which has worked on titles like Concord and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
