Sony studio Firesprite has been shedding talent amidst accusations of toxic culture, staff say

29.02.2024 - 17:42 / eurogamer.net / Sony

Sony-acquired studio Firesprite has recently suffered high profile exits amid accusations of a toxic workplace culture, Eurogamer has been told, as part of an investigation into the studio begun ahead of the layoffs announced by Sony this week.

The Liverpool-based developer released PlayStation VR2 launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain last year, after being acquired by Sony in 2021. But the impact of crunch for that game's release and changes in the company's senior leadership have subsequently led to discontent within the studio, staff have told Eurogamer — something one source described as «death by a thousand cuts».

Most concerning are reports from sources that two senior leaders from Sony support studio XDev, brought in to help lead Firesprite, have since been accused of sexual discrimination and ageism. A subsequent internal investigation by Sony is said to have resulted in the claims being dismissed as a «misunderstanding».

Job cuts at Firesprite were announced earlier this week as part of mass layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment. Around 900 SIE employees (equating to eight percent) will lose their jobs, though it's unclear how many at Firesprite are impacted. Bloomberg reported that the studio's live service Twisted Metal project was cancelled as a result of the job losses. Eurogamer understands the studio was also separately working on another high profile game in a Sony franchise.

Ahead of these layoffs, sources say an «alarming» number of employees had left the studio in recent months following a retention bonus payout in October, designed to reward staff for remaining on at the developer after the Sony acquisition for a further period of time.

Public employee reviews of Firesprite on company review site Glassdoor describe «horrendous» studio heads who are «way out of their depth» and «just care about their money», leading to a «toxic, bullying culture» and «culture of fear». One recent review takes a more sympathetic view, though, stating Firesprite's «old way» was disorganised and Sony has re-moulded the studio, which has «ruffled many feathers».

Eurogamer has spoken to a number of sources close to the company to understand the causes of this discontent, all of whom wished to remain anonymous for the sake of their careers. Others told us they did not wish to take part in this investigation for fear of reprisal.

While some staff say they believed change was needed at the studio after PlayStation's takeover, others suggested Sony's corporate view had altered company culture. The overall picture they painted was of a very different Firesprite to the studio