Sony has reportedly carried out layoffs at its San Diego-based Visual Arts studio and PS Studios Malaysia, as per a Kotaku report and insights from former employees on LinkedIn. Staff members were informed earlier this week that their final day would be March 7, affecting developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts serves as an art and technical support studio, collaborating with PlayStation's first-party studios, notably on the recent remasters of The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2.
IGN has identified several developers on LinkedIn who confirmed their layoffs from Visual Arts, along with at least one individual from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs were due to multiple project cancellations. This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts in the past two years, following another wave in 2023 that affected an undisclosed number of employees. It remains unclear how many people still remain at Visual Arts or the current status of its projects. IGN has contacted PlayStation for further comments.
These layoffs align with a broader trend in the gaming industry, where layoffs and project cancellations have been reported since 2023. At that time, estimates suggested over 10,000 game developers were laid off, a figure that increased to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, while the trend persists, the numbers are less clear due to more studios declining to disclose precise figures.
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