Sony has recently announced layoffs affecting an unspecified number of employees at its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, as reported by Kotaku and confirmed by former employees on LinkedIn. According to Kotaku, the affected staff were notified earlier this week that their last day would be March 7. These layoffs impacted developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, known for providing art and technical support to PlayStation's first-party studios, has notably contributed to projects like The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.
Several developers have shared on LinkedIn that they were laid off from Visual Arts, and at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs were a result of "multiple project cancellations."
This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within the last two years, following a similar event in 2023. The current number of employees at Visual Arts and the studio's ongoing projects remain undisclosed. IGN has sought clarification from PlayStation but has yet to receive a response.
These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry, which began in 2023. That year alone saw over 10,000 game developers laid off, with the number increasing to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend has persisted, though exact figures are harder to come by as more studios choose not to disclose the full extent of the layoffs.
