PlayStation shutters London studio, fires 8% of global workforce
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the gaming division of Sony, announced today that it has fired 900 people from its global workforce. This accounts for 8% of all SIE employees worldwide.
In an email to staff and a blog post on SEI's website, President and CEO Jim Ryan (who is retiring at the end of March 2024) stated the layoffs were in reaction to changes in the gaming industry and the "need to future ready [the company] to set the business up for what lies ahead." The terminations affect employees across SEI's business line, including multiple PlayStation studios.
In his email, Ryan stated the entirety of PlayStation's London studio would be closed. The London studio largely worked on games utilizing PlayStation peripherals, such as the PlayStation 2's EyeToy, the SingStar line of games and related microphone peripherals and apps, the PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3, and PlayStation VR.
Other game studios are also impacted by the staffing reduction, including Insomiac, Naughty Dog, and Guerilla Games (which is also cutting 10% of its staff, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier). Additionally, several upcoming titles have been outright cancelled, including online games in the Spider-Man, The Last of Us, and Twisted Metal franchises.
Jim Ryan's email stated the company will "implement a next career support program" to help terminated employees in Japan and will "begin conversations" with employees who lose their jobs in other regions.
Shares for Sony Group Corp (SEI's parent company) were down roughly 0.75% today as of press time and have fallen about 2.7% over the past five days.
