Sony Cuts Jobs at PlayStation Visual Arts Studio

Sony has recently undertaken layoffs affecting an undisclosed 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 employment would end on March 7. The layoffs included developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, primarily known for its art and technical support, has collaborated extensively with other PlayStation first-party studios, notably contributing to The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.

IGN has identified several developers on LinkedIn who confirmed their layoffs from Visual Arts, as well as at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that these layoffs resulted from "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 staff size and ongoing projects at Visual Arts remain unclear. IGN has sought comment from PlayStation on this matter.

These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry, which began in 2023. That year, over 10,000 game developers were estimated to have been laid off, with the number increasing to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend persists, though exact figures are harder to ascertain as more studios choose not to disclose the numbers affected.