Jim Ryan announces layoffs for 900 employees at Sony Interactive Entertainment, including PlayStation Studios like Naughty Dog and Insomniac.

2023 was a fantastic year in terms of the quantity and quality of releases that we were able to enjoy, but disastrous in terms of the health of the industry. Unfortunately, 2024 is not starting much better: a month ago it was Microsoft that laid off 1,900 employees of Xbox Game Studios, today it is Sony that has carried out a wave of layoffs that affect 900 workers of Sony Interactive Entertainment. There are several affected teams, among which two huge names, Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games, have also seen reductions to their workforces.

This was announced by Jim Ryan, former CEO of PlayStation and today holding the same position at Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8% or about 900 people, subject to local law and consultation processes. Employees across the globe, including our studios, are impacted,” wrote Ryan in a public message.

“These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success,” he continued. “And we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead.”

What studios have been affected by the layoffs?

Ryan goes into detail about studios losing employees, mentioning FireSprite, and even London Studio, which has been permanently closed. However, it is Hermen Hulst who goes a little deeper, revealing the most surprising thing: in a separate announcement, the current president of PlayStation Studios reveals that two of the affected studios are Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games.

“Delivering the immersive, narrative-driven stories that PlayStation Studios is known for, at the quality bar that we aspire to, requires a re-evaluation of how we operate” says Hulst. “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.”

It is to be hoped that there will soon be more information not only on the staff affected, but also on the projects that may have been compromised, but it is clear that the terrible year which was 2023 is having a worthy continuation so far in 2024.