PlayStation just lately introduced that it will likely be decreasing its workforce by roughly 8 %, which interprets to round 900 layoffs, and provided that quantity, it’s no shock that the consequences are going to be felt throughout the corporate. Quite a few main first-party studios are set to make job cuts, Firepsrite’s rumoured Twisted Steel sport has been cancelled (alongside reviews of office toxicity inside the studio), whereas SIE London Studio has been shut down totally.
The truth is, one other UK-based first-party PlayStation studio was additionally thought-about for closure, in line with journalist Ethan Gach, who has claimed in his Substack publication Lifeless Recreation that alongside SIE London Studio, Sony was additionally taking a look at LittleBigPlanet and Desires studio Media Molecule as a candidate for closure, earlier than deciding to close down the latter.
Based on Gach, London Studio ended up being shuttered because of the sluggish progress it was making on its PS5 reside service fantasy sport. Switching from VR to console improvement and treading into a completely completely different style, progress on the venture was apparently not passable to Sony, and London Studio allegedly not anticipating the sport to “see the sunshine of day anytime quickly” seemingly contributed to the studio’s shuttering.
Media Molecule’s final venture was Desires, which was a vital success – sitting at a Metacritic rating of 89 – however failed to draw a big sufficient viewers to stay related for too lengthy. Help for Desires led to September final yr, with Media Molecule confirming that it was engaged on its subsequent sport, and that it wouldn’t be a Desires sequel.
Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healy – who additionally directed LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, and Desires – left the studio final yr. In October, Media Molecule laid off round 20 of its staff.
