Sony Interactive Entertainment, the branch of Sony responsible for the PlayStation platform and numerous first-party studios, join the depressingly lengthy list of gaming companies announcing mass layoffs in recent times. In a press release posted to the Sony Interactive website, outgoing President and CEO Jim Ryan opens the news by calling it “a difficult day at our company.”
With this announcement, roughly 8%, or about 900 people around Sony’s various studios are being impacted.
Shedding the load
Just like other gaming companies that have recently let go of hundreds of workers, such as Microsoft (Activision-Blizzard) and EA, Sony points the blame at shifting dynamics in the industry. “We need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead,” says Ryan.
While Ryan did commend the work of all the affected personnel and their remaining colleagues, the sting of such a decision hurts nonetheless. This is especially due to so many other companies around the world having shed so much headcount as it is, with more likely to come if the industry continues to follow its current trajectory.
Ryan ended the press release by assuring fans that “our plans for reorganizing and streamlining are so we can continue to deliver the best gaming experiences possible.”
The outgoing President did opt to include a copy of the email that was sent out to staff about the layoffs. From here, it’s observed that Sony’s heads came to this decision after lengthy discussions “over several months.” While the layoffs will have an impact on virtually all branches of the PlayStation family, one particularly large casualty is the complete shut down of the PlayStation London Studio which has been around for 22 years.
A tale of repetition
This move from Sony comes right on the heels of them announcing via its FY23 financial report that it now sees the PS5 as being in the “latter stages of its lifecycle,” while also reducing sales projections due to the system not meeting previously expected targets for the concluding fiscal year. In that same report, Sony also noted that it won’t be releasing any new entries in established IPs for the upcoming fiscal year.
All things considered, 2024 is shaping up to be a staunchly quiet year for PlayStation, especially compared to recent highs in years prior.
Sony had already let go of 90 workers in North America back in 2022, so there’s no telling if there’s even more layoffs in the near future. Unfortunately, such a sentiment is something that most workers in the gaming industry have to continually worry about right now under current circumstances.
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