Sony has layed off 8per cent of its PlayStation employees globally, amounting to approximately 900 people.
In addition to cuts in the US and Japan, the gaming giant said this would mean closing PlayStation’s in London Studio entirely.
The company cited changes in the industry as a reason for the restructuring. The job cuts will occur in the Americas, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region.
Jim Ryan, Sony CEO, said in a blogpost on Tuesday: “We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”
Tuesday’s layoffs arrive one month after Microsoft said it would cut nearly 2,000 workers after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Riot Games, the developer of the popular League of Legends multiplayer battle game, said in January that it was laying off 11% of its staff.
Ryan said although these are challenging times, “it is not indicative of a lack of strength of our company, our brand, or our industry,”
He maintained that the company’s goal is to remain agile and adaptable to remain focus on delivering the best gaming experiences possible now and in the future.
Sony said it struggled to meet demand for its Playstation 5 console, released near the end of 2020, due to recurring supply chain issues before achieving high sales numbers.
