Sony Implements Workforce Reductions at Visible Arts and PS Studios Malaysia

First-party PlayStation development studio Visual Arts and PS Studios Malaysia have reportedly been experiencing workforce reductions.

According to Kotaku, an “undisclosed number of employees” were purportedly dismissed at Visual Arts, with indications that “their final day at Sony was to be March 7.”

These job cuts are claimed to be “extensive,” reportedly involving developers who were working on the recently cancelled live-service game from Bend Studios.

It appears that PS Studios Malaysia has also encountered job losses, as indicated by a LinkedIn post from former senior project manager Johann Affendy Mahfoor.

“There has been a wave of cuts, and unfortunately, I am no longer part of the PS brand,” Mahfoor expressed. “[The] most heartbreaking aspect for me was witnessing high achievers and crucial team members who were actively contributing to projects being let go.”

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Sony for additional comments and clarification.

Established in 2020, PS Studios Malaysia was set up to collaborate with Visual Arts, which provides art and technical development for first-party PS studios. Recently, it partnered with Naughty Dog on remasters of The Last Of Us Part 1 and 2.

Former employees Chris Clyde and Lewis Labram have also revealed their involvement in the layoffs on LinkedIn.

Abby LeMaster, senior lead producer at Riot Games R&D, who previously worked as project manager at Visual Arts, shared her reflections on the situation on Monday (March 3).

“It was difficult to wake up to messages that many friends and former colleagues from PSVA had been let go this morning,” LeMaster noted.