Sony Cuts Jobs at PlayStation Visual Arts Studio

Sony has recently conducted layoffs 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 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, has collaborated with other PlayStation first-party studios, notably on The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.

IGN has highlighted several developers on LinkedIn who have 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 two years, following another round in 2023. The current number of employees at Visual Arts and their ongoing projects remain undisclosed. IGN has sought comments from PlayStation regarding these developments.

These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry that began in 2023. That year, it was estimated that over 10,000 game developers were laid off, a number that increased to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend has persisted, though the exact figures are less clear as more studios are choosing not to disclose the full impact of their layoffs.