Sony Cuts Jobs at PlayStation Visual Arts Studio

Sony has recently laid off an unspecified number of employees from its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, as reported by Kotaku and confirmed by former employees on LinkedIn. According to Kotaku, affected staff were notified earlier this week that their last day would be March 7. These layoffs impacted developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio. Visual Arts, known for its art and technical support, has collaborated with other PlayStation first-party studios, notably on The Last of Us Part 1 and 2 remasters.

Several developers have publicly shared on LinkedIn that they were laid off from Visual Arts, alongside at least one from PS Studios Malaysia. 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 round in 2023. It remains unclear how many employees are left at Visual Arts or what projects the studio is currently working on. IGN has reached out to PlayStation for further comment.

These layoffs are part of a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations within the gaming industry, which began in 2023. That year, it was estimated that over 10,000 game developers were laid off, with the number increasing to over 14,000 in 2024. In 2025, this trend has continued, though exact figures are harder to come by as more studios are reluctant to disclose the number of affected employees.