In the past few hours, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan and the coordinator of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst have communicated the decision to terminate employment relationships with approximately 900 employees. Among the studios affected also Guerrilla Games which will have to do without around 40 employees out of a total of 400. Guerrilla Games is the Dutch studio behind Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West.
PlayStation: layoffs at Guerrilla Games, Insomniac, Naughty Dog and Santa Monica
Although the official press releases from Jim Ryan (CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) and Hermen Hulst (coordinator of PlayStation Studios) did not report the exact figures of the downsizing, the Dutch newspaper AD.nl revealed the data in the hours immediately following Sony's communications.
The two press releases published on February 27 cited various studies around the world. Not only Guerrilla Games, Santa Monica Studio, Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games would also be affected by the cuts. The worst situation, however, seems to be that of Europe. Together with the large reduction of Guerrilla (one of the largest in percentage), the risk of closure for London Studio should be mentioned (an eventuality that remains dubious only on paper) and a heavy reduction in the number of people employed by Firesprite. Ryan and Hulst also cite the decision to 'pull the plug' on several as-yet-unannounced projects in development.
In short, it makes its way la 'cura Totoki' (as it was renamed by someone). The CFO of the parent company has already expressed doubts about the performance rates of the gaming sector (low, despite the considerable revenues) and has decided to apply a severe cost reduction policy. Not only that: it seems that the next CEO of SIE is increasingly intent on expanding the brand's presence on other platforms too. The latest statement he cites confirms this greater attention to the mobile and PC world as part of the growth strategy.