Less than two months into 2024, it’s already been a brutal year for the games industry, with a number of companies having been hit with mass layoffs, resulting in thousands of jobs being cut across the industry. PlayStation has, sadly, now joined that worryingly ever-growing list.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it is laying off around 900 people, which is roughly 8% of its workforce. In message published on the company’s official website, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan – who is set to retire at the end of next month – wrote, “These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success, and we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead. We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”
Ryan also shared a copy of the internal email he sent to PlayStation staff earlier today, informing them of the company’s impending restructuring plans and their repercussions.
“It is important to provide you with updates about the business as often as possible,” he wrote. “Today, I am writing with sad news. Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable. The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success.
“After careful consideration and many leadership discussions over several months, it has become clear changes need to be made to continue to grow the business and develop the company. We had to step back, look at our business holistically, and move forward focusing on the long-term sustainability of the company and delivering the best experiences possible for our community. The goal is to streamline our resources to ensure our continued success and ability to deliver experiences gamers and creators have come to expect from us.”
A number of first-party PlayStation studios are set to be impacted by the layoffs, including Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Guerrilla, and Firesprite. In addition, SIE London Studio is going to be shuttered entirely.
Sony recently announced that the PS5 has sold 54.8 million units worldwide as of December 31, 2023. The company expects the console to ship 21 million units by the end of the current fiscal year, missing its target for the period by four million units. In the wake of said news, Sony’s stock value recently fell by $10 billion, with analysts also citing concerns of PlayStation’s operating margins hitting a near-decade-low of 6%.