Sony has recently laid off an unspecified number of employees from its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, as reported by Kotaku and confirmed through LinkedIn posts by former staff members.
According to Kotaku, the affected employees 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 remasters of The Last of Us Part 1 and 2.
IGN has highlighted several LinkedIn posts from developers confirming their layoffs from Visual Arts and at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs resulted from "multiple project cancellations."
This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within the past two years, following a similar event in 2023. The current number of employees at Visual Arts and the studio's ongoing projects remain uncertain. IGN has sought a comment from PlayStation on this matter.
These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations within the gaming industry, which began in 2023. That year alone saw over 10,000 game developers laid off, a figure that increased to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, although specific numbers are less clear due to fewer studios disclosing details, the trend has persisted.
