Sony Cuts Jobs at PlayStation Visual Arts Studio

Sony has recently laid off an unspecified number of employees from its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, according to reports from Kotaku and statements from former employees on LinkedIn. The layoffs were announced earlier this week, with March 7 set as the final working day for the affected staff. These employees had been involved in various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio.

Visual Arts, primarily an art and technical support studio, has collaborated extensively with other PlayStation first-party studios. Notable contributions include work on The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters. LinkedIn posts from several developers confirmed their layoffs from Visual Arts, and at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. A former Visual Arts employee attributed the layoffs to "multiple project cancellations."

This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within two years, following another reduction in 2023. The current status of the studio, including the number of remaining employees and ongoing projects, remains unclear. IGN has sought comment from PlayStation on these developments.

These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations within 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 harder to come by as fewer studios are disclosing the specifics of their layoffs.