Sony Cuts Jobs at PlayStation Visual Arts Studio

Sony has recently conducted layoffs affecting an unspecified 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, the 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 its role as an art and technical support studio, has collaborated with other PlayStation first-party studios, notably contributing to The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.

IGN has identified multiple developers on LinkedIn who stated they were laid off from Visual Arts, along with at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs were a result of "multiple project cancellations."

This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within the last two years, following another wave in 2023. The current number of employees at Visual Arts and the studio's ongoing projects remain unclear. IGN has sought comment from PlayStation.

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