Update:
Since the announcement came out Insomniac Games had released their own statement on X over the matter.
Original Story…
The current trend in the gaming industry hasn’t been a positive one. We’ve seen countless studios lay off a portion of its staff. Those layoffs are pressing on, with Sony just now confirming that they are going to lay off 900 employees under its PlayStation division. With that said, there’s also the confirmation that we’re seeing several games being canceled, along with an entire studio closure.
Thanks to VGC, we’re finding out that PlayStation is reevaluating how it operates, and it will cause several layoffs. We do have some insight into what studios outside of PlayStation London Studio will be affected. It looks like it will be something to hit several studios under the PlayStation banner. We always dread writing up these articles when studios or companies are facing a reduction in the workforce.
According to a statement posted by Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, we can see reductions at Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Firesprite, along with technology, creative, and support teams. As mentioned, the entire PlayStation London Studio will be closed down with this latest round of workforce reduction.
Not every studio that will be affected was highlighted, so there will be some smaller job losses that will range across other PlayStation Studios teams. Meanwhile, there were notices that several unannounced games were canceled in this move. Hermen noted that after looking through the projects currently in development at various stages, some of them will not progress forward.
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.
I want to be clear that the decision to stop work on these projects is not a reflection on the talent or passion of team members.
Our philosophy has always been to allow creative experimentation. Sometimes, great ideas don’t become great games. Sometimes, a project is started with the best intentions before shifts within the market or industry result in a change of plan.
I am deeply saddened to see talented individuals leave the company. I have so much admiration, appreciation and respect for their work.
Hermen Hulst – PlayStation
With that said, this is news that we have been anticipating for a little while now. It was during the Insomniac Games ransomware attack that details of plans to reduce the workforce at PlayStation leaked. It was also noted that there would be a studio shutdown with this move. Again, this is a trend we have been seeing for a good while, with even yesterday’s report of Supermassive Games laying off 90 of their employees.
