Sony’s Firesprite Studio has been accused of fostering a toxic work environment and ignoring complaints of workplace misconduct and harassment. An in-depth investigation of the claims by Eurogamer found that Firesprite — which Sony acquired in 2021 — was being led by two senior members of Sony’s XDev team, both of whom were investigated for claims of sexual discrimination and ageism made against them.

Sony’s Firesprite was recently hit by PlayStation layoffs

Eurogamer’s investigation began prior to Sony announcing mass layoffs across PlayStation, which Firesprite was also impacted by. Not only was the studio’s headcount reduced, its Twisted Metal live service game was also canceled.

According to sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Sony dismissed the aforementioned claims against its XDev leadership, terming it a “misunderstanding.” However, some of the complainants began exploring legal options, following which they received a financial settlement from Sony.

“Sony has committed the worst possible mistake in buying a studio and meddling to the point where it may end up in a death spiral and unable to complete any of the projects it is working on,” one of Eurogamer’s sources said. However, some sources countered that by saying that Firesprite needed the internal changes that came with its acquisition by PlayStation.

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Following yesterday’s news of mass PlayStation layoffs, details are emerging of how the redundancies impact individual first-party developers. According to two separate reports, Horizon and Killzone studio Guerrilla Games has lost 10% of its employees whereas Media Molecule narrowly escaped a full studio closure.

PlayStation layoffs hit developers by surprise

According to journalist Ethan Gach, he had heard from a source last December that Sony was considering closing down both London Studio as well as Media Molecule. The latter was speculated to be a candidate for closure after losing its co-founder and going through layoffs. However, it was London Studio that ended up on the chopping block — less than a week after outgoing boss Jim Ryan posed with its employees during a farewell gathering.

Gach says that none of the “dozens” of employees that he reached out to saw yesterday’s announcement coming, which was made by none other than Ryan himself.

Dutch news outlet AD.nl reports that Guerrilla Games has lost 10% of its workforce. Headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Guerrilla was acquired by Sony in 2005 and went on to produce the Killzone series. Killzone hasn’t seen a new entry since 2013 but Guerrilla found success with its Horizon series.

Guerrilla Games has (or had) two Horizon projects in the pipeline, one of which is an online game. It’s unclear if they are among the games Sony has canceled or not.

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Sony has revealed that it’s canceling multiple PlayStation Studios games while reevaluating the division’s operations. This news comes amid the announcement that PlayStation is laying off 900 employees worldwide, with PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst penning a separate blog to explain how the redundancies affect first-party developers.

Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog among PlayStation Studios affected

Hulst confirmed that Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, as well as PlayStation’s Technology, Creative, and Support teams will be impacted by the layoffs. As previously announced, London Studio will be shut down permanently, and Firesprite will have its headcount reduced. Hulst’s former company Guerrilla Games is also undergoing layoffs.

With all of the above comes cancellation of projects as well. “We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and have decided that some of those projects will not move forward,” Hulst wrote. It has been previously reported that a Spider-Man multiplayer game by Insomniac has been canceled along with The Last of Us multiplayer. The multiplayer game that London Studio was working on is presumably dead as well.

“PlayStation 5 is in its fourth year, and we are at a stage where we need to step back and look at what our business needs,” Hulst added. “I want to be clear that the decision to stop work on these projects is not a reflection on the talent or passion of team members.”

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Layoffs have hit Sony Interactive Entertainment, with PlayStation set to lose 900 employees — about 8% of its headcount. The biggest casualty is London Studio, which is being shut down entirely. The SingStar developer was in operation for 22 years, and was working on a PS5 multiplayer game.

PlayStation layoffs are the latest to hit the games industry

The games industry has been undergoing mass layoffs for a year now, with thousands of jobs (and counting) gutted across a large number of companies. It was only recently that Microsoft announced redundancies across its gaming division.

“The industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead,” Sony said in a corporate blog explaining the layoffs. “We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”

SIE employees across all regions around the globe have been impacted. In the UK, developer Firesprite will also undergo layoffs, and meanwhile in Japan, Sony will be running a career support program for affected employees. Sony has also pledged general support and severance for everyone affected around the globe.

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Sony Interactive Entertainment has said that it will not be releasing PS5 exclusives from any major existing IPs before March 2025. As a result, the company expects a decrease in software sales as well as a “slight decrease” in first-party software profit.

Sony committed to producing “high quality” PS5 exclusives and live service games

Hiroki Totoki, Sony Group CFO and Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman, has said that the company is committed to producing “high quality” titles and live service games. He added that there are “major projects” in development at present but no major existing first-party franchises are due to receive new installments until at least March 2025.

Beyond previously announced new IP like Concord, it’s not known how many unannounced new IPs Sony has in development and what their release windows are. Sony says that the PS5 has now entered the latter part of its life cycle, and the company foresees a gradual decline in sales.

Speaking of sales, Sony has revised its ambitious forecast of selling 25 million PS5s in the current financial year. With just one quarter to go, the company now hopes to sell a total of 21 million units for the year. This means that at least 4.6 million more PS5s need to be sold before March 31, 2024.

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Bend Studio animator Robert Morrison has said that PlayStation Studios aren’t in direct competition with Xbox and Nintendo Studios on a developer level. Morrison made his remarks in light of the recent controversy regarding Microsoft’s rumored pivot to multiplatform releases. The house of Xbox has yet to comment on the rumors but has promised a “business” update next week to address the matter.

PlayStation Studios won’t be impacted by lack of competition from Xbox, dev implies

Morrison tweeted that developers at the big three are all “driven by an internal desire to create the best work possible.” As a result, lack of competition will not “degrade” the quality of PlayStation Studios games.

While some understood Morrison’s take, others expressed concerns that as a company, PlayStation will have less of an incentive to invest in high quality games that set its platforms apart, should Xbox go multiplatform. Fans fear that as a consequence of that, PlayStation first-party output will suffer.

At the moment, there’s a big question mark around Xbox’s vision for the future. There’s evidence that the company plans to release some of its games on multiple platforms for financial reasons, but the extent of its change in strategy has yet to be established.

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Naughty Dog may well be working on a new game, but it isn’t The Last of Us 3 as that game is not in active development right now. The developer’s co-president Neil Druckmann has confirmed the game is only in a concept stage, and doesn’t even have a story at the moment.

Most of the previous The Last of Us 3 rumors were false

Rumors started back in 2021 following an interview with Druckmann in which he said they had written a story that took place after The Last of Us Part II. Many assumed this to be the story for The Last of Us 3, but in a documentary detailing the making of the second game, Druckmann clarified this was actually a story that starred Tommy. This “was always a small story, it was never a full title,” and has currently been shelved alongside the prequel title that was set to focus on Ellie’s background and parents. It may even become a TV show in the future.

For now, The Last of Us 3 doesn’t have a story. However, Druckmann said “I do have that concept, that, to me, is as exciting as I, as exciting as II, is its own thing, yet has this through-line for all 3”.

The game is not in active development, although it will likely find its way into Naughty Dog’s future plans. If it doesn’t, The Last of Us Part II is “a fine ending point.”

Following the recent release of The Last of Us Part II: Remastered on PS5, Naughty Dog’s next game is still very much a mystery. The Last of Us Online has been canceled but work continues on another project by a different internal team that is likely to be a new IP. It definitely won’t be a new game in the Uncharted franchise seeing as Naughty Dog is “done” and “moving on” from the series.

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Helldivers 2 opened today’s PlayStation State of Play show with a trailer that confirms that mechs will be returning to the game. The bad news is that the vehicles won’t be available at launch on February 8; instead, they will be arriving in the future.

Helldivers 2 will get the EXO-44 Walker Exosuit

The Helldivers 2 trailer showed a very brief tease of the EXO-44 walker exosuit that players will get in the future. The manned walker is armed with an MG-11 minigun and anti-infantry homing missiles and was extremely popular in the original Helldivers.

The trailer stated the EXO-44 walker will be “coming soon after launch”, although we’re not sure exactly how soon that will be. Arrowhead Game Studios haven’t confirmed whether any other vehicles will be coming to the game either, although players have been requesting their inclusion.

Whether the missions to be completed are eradicating bug infestations, destroying enemy supplies, or retrieving valuable data, you can guarantee there’ll be plenty of opposition. There was plenty of mayhem on show in the trailer, showcasing some of the giant enemy encounters from the robotic Automatons and the bug-like Termininds that occupy Super Earth. Each will require different strategies to overcome, while players will also have to deal with the environmental hazards that will no doubt cause plenty of hindrances.

We also got another glimpse at the large variety of customization options players will have for their characters and their ships. Just yesterday, the developer described how more weapons and gear will be available through the Warbonds, a battle pass-style system where players can unlock new equipment through gameplay. Super Earth promises a large arsenal at players’ disposal, with more equipment being added post-launch.

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Arrowhead Game Studios has detailed the Helldivers 2 Warbonds live service system but insists that it is not pay-to-win. While players will get one of the Warbonds as a gift from Super Earth, the rest will need to be purchased using Super Credits.

What are Helldivers 2 Warbonds?

Warbonds are “a treasure chest full of toys” according to Deputy Game Director Sagar Beroshi. Each Warbond is like a Battle Pass where there are multiple pages of unlockable content that can be unlocked using medals earned during play. Medals are earned by exploring the environment and completing objectives, missions, and operations.

Players will start off with the Helldivers Mobilize Warbond that is gifted to them by Super Earth. However, other premium Warbonds will need to be unlocked using Super Credits. While these can be discovered in missions by exploring points of interest, they can also be purchased from the in-game store using real currency. Despite this, “the Warbonds are NOT a pay-to-win, FOMO-driven [Fear of Missing Out] system”.

The thing that sets Warbonds apart from the usual Battle Pases, though, is that they won’t expire. Beroshi explained that they “will not retire earlier Warbonds as new ones are released” and they can be picked up and completed at any time.

The game will launch on February 8 with the aforementioned free Warbond and the premium Steeled Veterans Warbond. The latter includes new armor sets, capes, pistol, grenade, and primary weapons like the JAR-5 Dominator and the SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary. Those who have purchased the Super Citizen Edition will get the Steeled Veterans Warbond for free too.

Super Credits can also be used to purchase other items from the Acquisition Center Superstore. The Superstore items will rotate and include sets of armor, although it’s unclear whether anything else will be available there.

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Sony Group CEO and Chair Kenichiro Yoshida has reiterated that the company’s PlayStation division is committed to bringing games to PC, mobile, and cloud platforms. Yoshida reaffirmed this commitment in a November 2023 talk with Norges Bank Investment Management, which surfaced online and started making rounds this week.

PlayStation Studios games aren’t available on PC day-and-date with console

Sony has stood by its policy of not releasing PlayStation first-party games on other platforms day-and-date with its consoles, but Yoshida has said that the future of PlayStation will be “ubiquitous.”

“Wherever there is computing, users will be able to play their favorite games seamlessly,” Yoshida said (via Insider Gaming). “Why PlayStation will remain our core product [is] we will expand our gaming experiences to PC, mobile, and cloud.”

Sony has set up a mobile gaming division within PlayStation but it has yet to take off. It’s unclear if the company will change its stance on PC releases, but it has already made strides on the cloud gaming front. Currently available to PS Plus Premium subscribers in select regions, PS5’s cloud streaming service has garnered positive reviews, with players noting that it works almost flawlessly and supports a large catalog of games.

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