A new report has raised serious allegations about Sony-owned studio Firesprite, following Sony’s devastating layoffs that will see around 900 staff members laid off from the PlayStation business.
According to Eurogamer, the Liverpool-based studio had been struggling with a crisis, a high-profile exit, and a toxic workplace culture. A source told the website Firesprite that he “died from a thousand cuts.” Sony has not yet commented, but IGN has reached out to the company for answers.
Sony acquired Firesprite in 2021 after developing a number of PlayStation games such as “The Playroom”, “Run Sackboy!” Run! and his PSVR game The Persistence. The PSVR2 launch title, Horizon Call of the Mountain, was then developed under the supervision of Horizon’s custodians, Guerrilla Games.
Firesprite is one of the studios affected by Sony’s latest round of layoffs, with an undisclosed number of layoffs and the reportedly cancellation of Twisted Metal’s live service game. Ta. Firesprite is currently continuing development on a PlayStation game codenamed Project Heartbreak.
It has been suggested that Sony’s London studios will be permanently shut down and that PlayStation 5 games in development will be discontinued. The layoffs also hit The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog, the aforementioned Guerrilla, and Spider-Man developer Insomniac.according to Bloomberg reporter Jason SchreierGuerrilla’s Horizon Online game has survived the cull.
Sony’s layoffs come during one of the most difficult times the gaming industry has ever faced, with mass layoffs expected to continue throughout 2023 and into 2024. last month, Microsoft lays off 1,900 video game employees Following the acquisition of Call of Duty owner Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. IGN recently spoke with the developer about these layoffs. I tried to explain what caused it.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find me on Twitter @wyp100. Wesley can be contacted at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].