Sony has conducted another round of layoffs as the console goliath proceeded with the cancellation of more live-service games. The layoffs were announced to be part of PlayStation’s restructuring in the U.S. that has been implemented in the recent past. However, despite the unfortunate layoffs, Sony has not ceased to work on other projects like the Horizon live service.
Layoffs have been a chronic problem that has negatively affected the video game industry over the last few years. Many game developers have released their employees, leaving them without work. Sony Interactive Entertainment became the latest giant game company to be hit by layoffs as it continued to struggle with its game projects.
Layoffs at PlayStation’s Visual Arts division
PlayStation's Visual Arts division faces layoffs amid a wave of cancelled PS5 games, including Bend Studio's project.
Despite strong financials, the push for profit leads to job losses and a major restructuring.
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— playswave 🎮 🌊 (@playswave_com) March 5, 2025
A new round of layoffs has left an undisclosed number of people jobless at PlayStation’s Visual Arts division. The new round of layoffs comes as part of Sony’s restructuring strategy, which aims to make the company more profitable despite its already strong financial status.
Sony’s layoffs have also affected the arts departments of PlayStation’s other branches around the world. In Malaysia, Sony announced that it was releasing around 20 staff members.
The layoffs occurred after the game company canceled several projects in the past few months. Sony has shut down several live-service projects in the past, including Visual Arts’ The Last of Us, Bend Studio’s Days Gone, and an unannounced live-service game related to God of War from Bluepoint. The multinational game company also canceled Concord, a first-person hero shooter game that was in development by Firewalk Studios. Concord was shut down less than a month after its launch as it flopped terribly and did not meet the expectations of gamers in the highly competitive live-service genre.
Sony’s latest round of staff layoffs is not the first time the video game company has downsized its staff. In February 2024, Sony laid off 900 employees, who accounted for approximately 8% of its total workforce. The decision affected studios that include Naughty Dog (The Last of Us series), Insomniac Games (Spider-Man series), and Guerrilla Games (Horizon series). Additionally, in October 2024, the video game company conducted another round of layoffs when it permanently shut down Firewalk Studios and closed Neon Koi. These layoffs resulted in 210 job losses as the company continued its strategic restructuring.
Despite the staggering layoffs, Sony continued its foray into the live-service game niche. The video game company is still moving forward with a Horizon-themed live-service project. Sony recently added former Destiny 2 senior design lead Chris Proctor to its team to help with the Horizon-themed game’s development. Proctor, a former Bungie lead designer, joined Guerrilla Games as its design director. Proctor is expected to bolster the project’s unique weapon designs and gameplay mechanics in his new role.
Gamers react to PlayStation layoffs
Gamers online did not take long to express their opinions after the new layoffs at PlayStation. Some of the gamers expressed their concern and frustration over the fact that there were more layoffs in the gaming industry.
Some of the gamers also said that they could not believe that a company like Sony, which records profits from both games and consoles, is laying off its employees. The gamers stated that Sony was profitable compared to Microsoft and that it should not be laying off workers at the same rate as Microsoft.
Other gamers also argued that layoffs are common in the game industry and did not affect PlayStation in the long run. They said that Sony still has many other games in the pipeline that will help offset the canceled games. Some gamers claimed that the firings were mostly new hires to support the now-dumped live-service service games that had become surplus to requirements moving forward.
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