Former PlayStation employees report that Sony's gaming division has been hit by a wave of layoffs
We wrote that technical artist Farhan Noor created the website videogamelayoffs.com, where you can analyse how many people were laid off in gaming companies in 2023. More than 80 companies have suffered layoffs, and another 11 studios have closed this year. Now, a new wave of layoffs has taken place at Sony's gaming division.
Here's What We Know
Daniel Bellemare, a senior level designer, wrote on LinkedIn that he left the Playstation team after the wave of layoffs. According to Daniel's profile, he was working on an unannounced project.
Matt Barney, a recruitment expert, also spoke about the layoffs. He knew that this wave of layoffs was coming, but he stayed when he had the chance to leave because he loves PlayStation.
Sean Teo, who worked on The Last of Us Part 1, said that his contract with PlayStation's Visual Arts Group has ended, although it is unclear whether it was a layoff. Perhaps the contract expired and the parties decided not to renew it. But this is yet another confirmation of staff reductions.
It is not known how many people were laid off at PlayStation, but videogamelayoffs (at the time of writing) states that in total, at least 6400 employees of the gaming industry heard about the layoffs in 2023, and by the end of the year, this figure could reach 7 thousand. That is why developers are actively creating trade unions, as video game development is not the most stable profession.
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Source: videogameschronicle
