In what is fast becoming a grim year for gaming jobs, PlayStation Studios has announced it’s laying off around 900 people across Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerilla Games, and more. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s planning on shuttering PlayStation London Studio entirely.
Yes, you read that right. It’s not even March, and there’s yet another wave of layoffs that are all but a done deal. Herman Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, has issued a statement, outlaying the plans. “We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8% or about 900 people,” he said.
Why? The statement goes on to say that “..our plans for reorganizing and streamlining are so we can continue to deliver the best gaming experiences possible.” Another statement, posted to the SIE blog by PlayStation president Jim Ryan, says largely the same thing, albeit in a more verbose manner. Ryan himself is retiring from Sony in March, though I suspect his departure will be less traumatic than those hit by these layoffs.
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Hulst’s statement confirms that several projects will be canceled, and London Studio will be closed. London Studio has been responsible for the SingStar series, the EyeToy Games, and many more. The studio was working on an online co-op game set in a fantasy London, but it seems like that will be canceled. According to LinkedIn, the studio has between 51 and 200 employees, but you can bet there are others who aren’t on the network.Â
Amsterdam-based dev Guerilla Games, the team behind the Horizon and Killzone games, is also named, alongside Firesprite and Insomniac. The statements talk about a consultation period and the layoffs being subject to local laws and so forth, but it seems as if the higher-ups at PlayStation Studios have made up their minds.
We hope that everyone affected lands on their feet, but we doubt this will be the last time we report on layoffs.
