Mass layoffs hit Sony San Diego Studio

Gamasutra has learned that layoffs have begun to hit Sony San Diego Studio, the company behind Kill Strain and MLB: The Show. 

Sources close to the studio have confirmed that approximately 50 employees have been laid off, and that the layoffs impact both studio execs and regular employees alike. Sony San Diego Studio was also previously responsible for producing Guns Up and Drawn to Death, two online games on PS4.  

No clear reason for the layoffs has been given at this time, but our sources say that Sony appears to be moving away from live games development. A separate source believes that the developers behind MLB: The Show are still with the company. 

These layoffs follow the news this morning that Sony has reduced its workforce at the Sony London Studio as development wraps up work on several projects for PlayStation VR. Sony has not made any indication that these two sets of layoffs are linked. 

We’ve reached out to Sony for comment and will update this article if they respond. If you or someone close to you have been affected by these layoffs, you can email Gamasutra to share your story confidentially. 

Update: A Sony representative has confirmed with GamesIndustry.biz that the San Diego studio layoffs are not affecting the MLB: The Show team.