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Sony Interactive Entertainment announced today that it plans to lay off around 8% of its global workforce, or around 900 people. According to SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan, the layoffs will impact employees across every department, including PlayStation’s studios. Ryan said this is part of the company’s restructuring to help it better survive a difficult period for the games industry — SIE adds to a layoff list that is already past 1,600 jobs in 2024 alone — and “set the business up for what lies ahead.”
Ryan said in an email to SIE employees that “we will enter a period of collective consultation before any final decisions are taken. All employees who are part of the collective consultation will be made aware of the next steps today.” Ryan himself is set to retire in March, after which Hiroki Totoki is taking over as interim CEO. He added, “Please rest assured that our plans for reorganizing and streamlining are so we can continue to deliver the best gaming experiences possible.”
Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, later expanded in a separate post about which studios would be affected by the reductions. PlayStation’s London studio would shut down completely. Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Guerrilla Games and Firesprite would also be affected by reductions, as would PlayStation’s Technology, Creative and Support teams. Hulst added that there would be smaller reductions at other studios.
Hulst also implied that some games in development at PlayStation’s studios will be canceled, saying, “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.” He didn’t elaborate on which projects would be affected.
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