Mass layoffs hit Sony Interactive Entertainment – London Studio shutting down, Naughty Dog & Insomniac also affected

thesixthaxis.com:

Sony has announced mass layoffs across PlayStation Studios with 8% or around 900 people set to be made redundant across their worldwide studios. This will include the complete shutdown of London Studio, while Naughty Dog, Insomniac and other studios are affected as well.

In the US, Sony is notifying affected employees today across Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, as well as our Technology, Creative, and Support teams. In the UK and Europe where there’s better worker protection laws, Sony are proposing that PlayStation Studios’ London Studio will close in its entirety, and that there will be reductions in Guerrilla and Firesprite. These will be subject to the local laws and necessary consultation periods.

Outgoing SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan made the announcements in a blog post, sharing the internal email sent to all employees, where he said:

Today, I am writing with sad news. Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable. The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success.

A parallel post by PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst explained:

Delivering and sustaining social, online experiences – allowing PlayStation gamers to explore our worlds in different ways – as well as launching games on additional devices such as PC and Mobile, requires a different approach and different resources.

To take on these challenges, PlayStation Studios had to grow. We have brought brilliant and successful Studios into our family. We have invested in new technology and partnerships. We have recruited talent from across our industry and beyond.

But growth itself is not an ambition.