Sony announced they will lay off 900 workers which is equivalent to 8% of Sony Interactive Entertainment's total workforce. Among the worst affected are the staff of the PlayStation Studio London which will close completely and the reduction of the staff of the Firesprite studio. Both studios are involved in the development of PS VR2 virtual reality game.
Also affected are the staff of Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games and various other PlayStation studios around the world. PlayStation Head Jim Ryan said the workforce reduction measures were taken to ensure the company's long-term sustainability and deliver the best experience for the PlayStation community.
In Sony's latest financial report recently, PlayStation 5 sales fell short of the 25 million target set with the console said to be now in the final stages of its life cycle after four years of launch. Despite successfully defeating Xbox in the current generation console war, PlayStation is still not able to overcome the economic challenges that hit the post-pandemic technology industry.