Playstation: Sony to cut 900 jobs and close London studio
Sony has announced plans to cut around 900 jobs in its Playstation arm and close its London studio.
Describing the move as an “extremely hard decision”, the gaming giant’s chief executive Jim Ryan added that the “industry has changed immensely” and the company needed to “future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead”.
When complete, the headcount in Sony’s Playstation division is expected to have been reduced by around 8 per cent.
The cuts follow many other technology and gaming firms, who have made job cuts in recent months in response to ongoing global economic uncertainty.
In an email sent to Playstation staff, Mr Ryan confirmed the proposed cuts would see the firm’s London Studio close “in its entirety”, with staff reductions also occurring at its Liverpool-based Firesprite Studio, and that there will be “reductions in various functions across Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) in the UK”.
He added: “The Playstation community means everything to us, so I felt it was important to update you on a difficult day at our company.
“We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8 per cent or about 900 people, subject to local law and consultation processes. Employees across the globe, including our studios, are impacted.
“These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success, and we are very grateful for their contributions.
“However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead.
“We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”
Sony acquired Firesprite Studio in September 2021 for an undisclosed sum.
Earlier this month, Sony revised down its sales forecast for the Playstation 5 console by four million.
The gaming and wider tech sector have seen widespread job cuts over the last year, with thousands of staff reductions at the likes of Meta, Amazon, TikTok, Snapchat and others.
Last month, Microsoft also announced it was cutting 1,900 Xbox and Activision Blizzard employees.