Sony, the Japanese tech giant, is making changes within its PlayStation division. The company is letting go of approximately 900 employees and closing a studio in London. These moves come as the entire video game industry faces a slowdown after the pandemic boom.

Sony’s gaming boss, Jim Ryan, acknowledges that “difficult choices were necessary.” He points to shifts in how games are created, sold, and played as the reason for the changes. Ryan himself will be stepping down in March.

This news isn’t surprising – other major players, like Microsoft and Riot Games, have also reduced their workforces recently.

Gaming Industry Slowdown

In 2023, the global video game market saw very slight growth (only 0.6%), reaching a value of $184 billion. While this is better than the decline seen in 2022, it’s still a far cry from the rapid expansion during the pandemic.

Sony isn’t just laying off workers in London. Other well-known studios in the US will be impacted, including Insomniac Games (“Marvel’s Spider-Man 2”) and Naughty Dog (“The Last of Us”).

PlayStation 5 Sales

Sony recently lowered its expectations for PlayStation 5 sales in the upcoming year, also admitting there won’t be major game releases from them for a while. The popular console has sold over 50 million units since 2020, but early years were difficult due to pandemic-related production shortages.