Sony-owned social games outfit GSN Games has laid off a number of staff members, including veteran designer Steve Meretzky. 

GSN didn't specify how many people had been let go, although company COO Steve Brunell told GamesIndustry.biz that organizational changes and rebalancing had resulted in a "small reduction."

GSN's social casino studios, which primarily work on established live games, have been most affected by the changes. 

The recently released Meretzky, who led game design for the social casino division as GSN's vice president of creative, told GI.biz his departure had left him with "mixed feelings."

The designer has been working in games for 34 years and praised GSN's company culture, but expressed regret at failing to hammer home his own philosophies during his three year stay.

"I wasn't able to get the company to adopt a lot of my thinking, especially around the topic of adding more meta-game systems, boosting long-term retention by giving players more medium-term and long-term loops.

"Obviously, it's hard to sum up three years in a short paragraph, but those are the headlines."