In some rather sad news, it sounds like multiple people working at Sony Worldwide Studios have lost their jobs in a recent round of layoffs conducted at Sony London and Sony San Diego- Sony have confirmed the layoffs to GamesIndustry.biz.

Sony London, working on PlayStation VR exclusive London Heist, will apparently be kept assigned to PlayStation VR games for the time being, from the sound of things.

“London Studio have done a great job in leading the way in VR development, and as their first project nears completion it is time to plan for the next VR project,” a Sony spokesperson said. “The team will take all their learnings and experience as they move forward, however in order to achieve its ambitious goals, the Studio will need to restructure around the needs of the new projects.

“Unfortunately, there will be a number of compulsory redundancies within the London Studio. We accept that this will mean that we risk losing high calibre staff whose projects have reached completion and where possible, we will try to reallocate people to new projects currently being nurtured.”

As for Sony San Diego, it seems the shakeup there is more severe- although it also sounds like the team working on MLB every year is safe, if only because of how well that series sells.

“We can confirm there has been a reduction in headcount at San Diego Studio,” a Sony spokesperson again told GI.biz. “The team working on MLB The Show have not been affected. We continually evaluate teams and programs at SIE Worldwide Studios to ensure we have the proper resources in place to deliver innovative products within a competitive landscape.

“As projects are completed, it is natural to review and restructure teams around current and future needs. We wish our departing team members success as they pursue new opportunities and we have nothing but heart-felt thanks for their contributions to PlayStation.”

Let’s just hope that the people who are being let go can get back on their feet again, and soon. Being unemployed sucks, and I would hate to see such talented people be jobless for long.

After the purge of SCE Santa Monica, it’s now the turn of Evolution Studios, Guerrilla Games Cambridge and Sony London to face lay-offs. Speaking to Videogamer, a Sony representative stated that quite a few members were let go from each team. The studios in question are currently busy with DriveClub (Evolution Studios), The Deep (Sony London) and Killzone: Mercenary (Guerrilla Games Cambridge).

“Regular reviews take place throughout SCE Worldwide Studios, ensuring that the resources that we have in such a competitive business can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects.

“As part of this process, we have reviewed and assessed all current projects and have decided to make some changes to some of our European Studios. As a result of this, there will be a focused restructure within London Studio, Guerrilla Cambridge Studio and Evolution Studio to ensure that the SCE WWS is in the best position to achieve their goals going forward.

“Our first party development studios are key to our creative strategy and we are very excited about the future projects being worked on.”

As for the current status of DriveClub, which was delayed from November 2013 and reportedly went back to the drawing board several weeks ago, the rep said, “development of Driveclub will not be affected.”

What are your thoughts on the redundancies? Let us know below.