PlayStation hit with further layoffs in the US and Malaysia

According to reports, layoffs have occurred at PlayStation's Visual Arts studio and the company's Malaysia studio, affecting "many" employees.

The details:

• As reported by Kotaku, Visual Arts in San Diego has laid off an undisclosed number of employees as part of PlayStation's restructuring of its US developers. The studio is best known for its work on major PlayStation titles such as Naughty Dog's remasters of The Last of Us 1 and 2, as well as Bend Studio's now-cancelled live service project.

• Former Visual Arts project manager Abby LeMaster, who now works at Riot Games, shared the news on LinkedIn, stating that "many" of their former coworkers had been let go. “It was tough waking up to messages that many friends and former coworkers from PSVA were laid off this morning,” LeMaster wrote. “The layoffs today hit hard. PSVA let go of developers with decades of subject matter expertise; talent that will be extraordinarily difficult to recoup. This industry can be unpredictable, but the skill, experience, and passion of the people I worked with at PSVA are undeniable.”

• Unfortunately, it appears that PlayStation Studios Malaysia has also been impacted by the layoffs. However, the extent of the cuts has yet to be disclosed.

• Sony has laid off over a thousand PlayStation employees since February 2024, when it announced that 8% of its workforce would be laid off. The cuts follow a string of project cancellations and commercial failures, including the ill-fated Concord, which ultimately led to the closure of Firewalk Studios.

More gaming news:

• Rockstar Games has acquired Video Games Deluxe, a Sydney-based developer led by former LA Noire director Brendan McNamara. The studio is now known as Rockstar Australia, although it is unconfirmed what projects it is working on.

• Activision has announced Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 with a release date set for July 11.