Sony has recently conducted 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, affected staff were notified earlier this week that their last day would be March 7. These layoffs included 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 The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.
IGN has identified several developers on LinkedIn who have confirmed being laid off from Visual Arts, along with at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee stated that these 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 unclear. IGN has reached out to PlayStation for further comment.
These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations within the gaming industry that began in 2023. That year, it was estimated that over 10,000 game developers were affected, a number that increased to more than 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend has persisted, though precise figures are less clear as more studios have opted not to disclose the exact number of impacted employees.
