Embattled game studio Sony Santa Monica has announced layoffs and a cancelled project. Yesterday, in a statement to IGN, Sony Computer Entertainment of America confirmed speculation that they will be letting an undisclosed number of their staff go.
“SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio. This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within,” they said in a statement. “We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted.”
SSM was responsible for a total of five games and some were major players in the PlayStation arsenal. The incredibly successful God of War series was a product of theirs as well as the dismal fourth installment in the series. They also announced the cancelling of an unknown title that was in development. It seems like the month of February is rough for game developers. Sony’s layoffs at Santa Monica come one week after BioShock developer Irrational Games announced that it will be shutting down. We’re hoping these layoffs and studio shut-downs will come to a halt, as it’s sad to see such competent teams disbanding.