Sony has recently conducted layoffs at its Visual Arts studio in San Diego and PS Studios Malaysia, according to reports from Kotaku and statements from former employees on LinkedIn. The layoffs were announced earlier this week, with the affected staff being informed that March 7 would be their last day. These layoffs included developers who had worked on various projects, including a recently canceled live-service game at Bend Studio.

Visual Arts, known for providing art and technical support, has collaborated with other PlayStation first-party studios, notably contributing to the recent remasters of The Last of Us Part 1 and 2. LinkedIn posts from former employees, as reported by IGN, confirm the layoffs at Visual Arts and at least one at PS Studios Malaysia. One ex-Visual Arts employee mentioned that the layoffs resulted from "multiple project cancellations."

This marks the second round of layoffs at Visual Arts within two years, following another round in 2023. The current number of employees at Visual Arts and the studio's ongoing projects remain undisclosed. IGN has sought a statement from PlayStation regarding these developments.

These layoffs reflect a broader trend of job cuts and project cancellations in the gaming industry, which began in 2023 with over 10,000 developers affected. By 2024, the number of layoffs had increased to over 14,000, and this trend has persisted into 2025, though precise figures are harder to come by as more studios choose not to disclose the extent of their layoffs.