Despite the upcoming releases of PlanetSide 2 for PlayStation 4 and EverQuest Next, Sony Online Entertainment has revealed that there has been “a reduction in our workforce”, with an unspecified number of employees laid off according to a community manager’s forum post.
“As a company, our goal is to focus on our core expertise of MMO games and as part of these efforts, we had to make the difficult decision to eliminate positions to help reduce costs, streamline our employee base and strategically align resources towards our current portfolio of games and upcoming slate of MMOs, including EverQuest Next Landmark and EverQuest Next.”
Polygon obtained an official email from CEO John Smedley, which stated that “I know most of the people we’re laying off today. Some of them have been with us here since the beginning. None of them deserved this. Our goal as a company needs to be to make incredible games and grow again so we can bring our friends back.” He also revealed that these cuts should have happened last year, but that SOE was working to prevent a worst-case scenario.
Hopefully the success of its upcoming projects will allow SOE to bring its employees back soon.