Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says he sees "consolidation to be the enemy of creativity," as the company's outgoing boss Jim Ryan shares his enthusiasm for Microsoft's Call of Duty deal with PlayStation.
27.02.2024 - 15:29 / eurogamer.net / Jim Ryan / Sony Playstation / Hermen Hulst / Playstation Studios / Sony
PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has confirmed that some projects have been cancelled in the wake of layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Earlier today, SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan announced 900 layoffs would take place across the company, including the complete closure of PlayStation London Studios.
Hulst then followed up with a further statement, to discuss the impact of this workforce reduction and a «re-evaluation of how we operate».
Newscast: Why are there so many games industry layoffs? Newscast: Why are there so many video game industry layoffs?«PlayStation 5 is in its fourth year, and we are at a stage where we need to step back and look at what our business needs,» reads the statement from Hulst.
«At the same time, our industry has experienced continuing and fundamental change which affects how we all create, and play, 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."
PlayStation Studios has grown to deliver «social, online experiences» as well as launching games on PC and mobile. However, «growth itself is not an ambition».
«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,» said Hulst.
«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.
»Our philosophy has always been to allow creative experimentation. Sometimes, great ideas don't become great games. Sometimes, a project is started with the best intentions before shifts within the market or industry result in a change of plan.
«I am deeply saddened to see talented individuals leave the company. I have so much admiration, appreciation and respect for their work.»
While it remains unclear what projects have been cancelled, the closure of London Studios likely means the unannounced project listed on its website based on «a brand new IP» will no longer be in development.
It's also unclear if this statement includes the already-cancelled The Last of Us multiplayer project.
Just two weeks ago, Sony announced a record quarter for PlayStation sales and revenue, though it expects console sales to decline over the next fiscal year.
Sony has now sold 54.7m PlayStation 5 consoles.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says he sees "consolidation to be the enemy of creativity," as the company's outgoing boss Jim Ryan shares his enthusiasm for Microsoft's Call of Duty deal with PlayStation.
PlayStation-backed game studio, Deviation Games, has closed.
Deviation Games has closed down.
Sony has released this month’s first PlayStation Plus games.
Guerrilla’s multiplayer Horizon game is reportedly not among a number of recently cancelled PlayStation titles.
Insomniac Games has released a public statement in response to layoffs at the studio announced this week by parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Sony has confirmed March 2024’s PlayStation Plus Essential games.
As part of the sweeping layoffs of 900 Sony Interactive Entertainment employees, Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, has confirmed that there have been some game cancellations.
Japan's Sony is cutting about 900 jobs at its PlayStation unit and shutting a studio in London, it said on Tuesday as the videogame industry struggles to recover from a post-pandemic slump.
They say you don’t know what’ll work until you try it out, and that’s been a staple of the gaming industry for decades! Between arcades, consoles, handhelds, and everything in between, publishers and developers have tried anything and everything to get people to come to their systems and try out their stuff. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes, you get a revolution, and that can lead to big things on the horizon. Last year, Sony unveiled the PlayStation Portal feature, which would give fans a mobile way to play their PS5 games in a more mobile capacity. At first, it seemed like a “weird peripheral” to have. However, the heads of Sony have been blown away by what it’s doing.
Guerrilla Games is reportedly cutting 10% of its workforce as part of wider layoffs announced on Tuesday by parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Anyone working in the video game industry must feel as if they have a target painted on their back. 2023 saw at least 6000 people lose their jobs and 2024 is somehow looking much worse. January saw Microsoft sack 9000 people, there’s been a raft of smaller studio closures and staff cuts. Now Sony has joined this miserable party, handing 900 PlayStation workers their notices across the company.