Sony has recently laid off an unknown number of employees from its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, according to a report by Kotaku and statements from former employees on LinkedIn. The affected staff were notified that March 7 would be their last day of employment. These layoffs included developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, primarily known for providing art and technical support to PlayStation's first-party studios, has notably contributed to projects like The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.
Several developers have confirmed their layoffs from Visual Arts and PS Studios Malaysia on LinkedIn. A former Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs were a result of "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 impacted an unspecified number of individuals. It remains unclear how many employees are still at Visual Arts and what projects the studio is currently involved with. IGN has reached out to PlayStation for further comment on the situation.
These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry that started in 2023. That year saw over 10,000 game developers laid off, with the number increasing to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, the trend has continued, though exact figures are less clear as more studios are reluctant to disclose the number of affected employees.
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