PlayStation is considered the home of great games and industry-leading innovations. However, like others in the industry, it has struggled to maintain its core workforce in 2023.
Recently, Bungie laid off several developers. According to a new report, as many as 100 employees were affected by the layoffs. Bloomberg also confirms that recent layoffs at PlayStation are part of a money-saving initiative at Sony.
Why it matters: This phenomenon has been observed across the entire industry. Big publishers like Epic Games laid off 830 employees, while CDPR also let go of 10% of its team in 2023.
This report comes after various Bungie developers began to highlight layoffs on social media. Finding out more about the matter, the outlet has revealed that nearly 8% of the Destiny developer’s staff is no longer a part of the team.
Apart from the layoffs, Bungie is struggling with low player retention for Destiny 2, with sales being 45% below estimations. All of these elements have reportedly led to a delay for the next Destiny 2 expansion and Marathon.
Ultimately, PlayStation appears to be going through a difficult time altogether. With layoffs at Media Molecule, Naughty Dog, Visual Arts, and more, nearly all but a few studios under the gaming giant have been affected.
Analysts believe Sony’s gaming division may be going through a restructuring phase, suggesting that these layoffs are a consequence of such measures. This would line up with earlier reports about the company hoping to step back from its live service focus.
As always, we are saddened to hear that so many developers have lost their jobs recently. We hope that this industry will rise to the occasion and offer a helping hand to those impacted by the recent cuts.
While 2023 has been nothing short of incredible for the average consumer, it breaks our heart to see the people spending countless hours to bring these experiences to life losing their jobs this year.
Following the layoffs, Bungie has seemingly delayed Marathon to 2025.
Other games impacted by the job cuts at PlayStation include The Last of Us Multiplayer and Deviation Games’ project, both of which may never see the light of day if recent reports are to be believed.
Featured Image Credit: Zuby_Tech
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.