Sony has recently laid off an unknown number of employees from its San Diego-based Visual Arts studio and PS Studios Malaysia, as reported by Kotaku and confirmed through LinkedIn posts from former employees.
According to Kotaku, affected staff were notified earlier this week that their last day would be March 7. The layoffs included developers who had worked on various projects, notably a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, known for its art and technical support, has collaborated with PlayStation's other first-party studios, contributing to projects like The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.
IGN has identified several developers on LinkedIn who mentioned being laid off from Visual Arts, alongside 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 the last two years, following another wave in 2023 that also affected an unspecified number of employees. It remains unclear how many staff members are currently at Visual Arts and what projects they are working on. IGN has sought comment from PlayStation.
These layoffs add to the ongoing trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry, which began in 2023 with over 10,000 game developers affected. By 2024, that figure had risen to over 14,000, and in 2025, the trend persists, though exact numbers are less clear as more studios opt not to disclose the full impact of their layoffs.
