Sony to Cut 900 Jobs, Close London Studio

Sony has announced plans to lay off 8% of PlayStation employees globally, amounting to approximately 900 people.

The gaming giant, has announced cuts in the US and Japan and confirmed the closure of PlayStation's London Studio.

In a blog post sharing an email sent to employees, boss Jim Ryan called the move "sad news" and said it was "a difficult day at our company".

"We have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable," he said.

"The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success."

The cuts come a month after rival Microsoft revealed plans to lay off 1,900 people in its gaming division, which included those at recently-acquired Activision-Blizzard.

According to Halli Bjornsson, head of UK developer Lockwood Publishing, "Sony is one of the big pillars of UK game development culture so it's massive to see the legendary Sony London studio close in particular." 

"It's a challenging time for our industry as it continues to go through major changes.

"However, UK games talent and heritage is world class, and if we continue to foster it, we'll rebound and be in a good place to build upon the opportunities that are on the horizon."

Sony's PlayStation 5 has surpassed 50 million global sales, more than doubling Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S. 

In contrast, Nintendo's Switch, released three years earlier, boasts nearly 140 million units sold. Sony's recent earnings report revealed a projection of four million fewer console sales by March's end. 

While PlayStation's revenue increased by 16% compared to the previous year, its operating income declined by 25%.

"Sony Interactive Entertainment becomes the latest in a long list of games companies that have laid off a significant number of staff in the last 12-18 months," said Piers Harding-Rolls, gaming industry analyst at Ampere Analysis.

"The cost of developing big-budget games has reached unsustainable levels and these costs have come when the games sector is going through an adjustment post-pandemic.

"Many companies have been responding to that more commercially risky market."

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