Sony has recently laid off an unknown number of employees from its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, according to a report by Kotaku and statements from former employees on LinkedIn. The affected staff were informed that their last day would be March 7, and the layoffs included developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, known for its art and technical support, has collaborated with other PlayStation first-party studios on projects like The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.
Several developers have confirmed their layoffs on LinkedIn, with one former Visual Arts employee attributing the layoffs to "multiple project cancellations." This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within two years, following a similar event in 2023. It remains unclear how many employees are still with Visual Arts or what the studio's current projects are. IGN has sought comment from PlayStation on these developments.
These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry, which began to be reported in 2023. That year saw over 10,000 game developers laid off, a number that increased to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend persists, though exact figures are harder to come by as more studios are choosing not to disclose the extent of their layoffs.
