PlayStation overhauls how it makes games, more projects canceled according to Hermen Hulst

Hermen Hulstthe leader of the PlayStation Studiosspoke on the announcement of Sony's layoffs, with the complete closure of London Studioto talk about the impact it will have on the games produced by the company.

The message, published on institutional website of Sony Interactiveit started with the summary than what was announced:

The US-based studios and groups affected by the staff reductions are: Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, as well as our echnology, Creative and Support teams. The studios affected in Europe and the UK are: London Studio (completely closed), Guerrilla and Firesprite. Furthermore, Hulst also confirmed scattered layoffs across other PlayStation teams.

“PlayStation Studios' goal has always been to create the best games for PlayStation fans, and our global development studio communities are among the most creative and talented teams in the video game industry,” Hulst's premise continues , who then got to the heart of the matter: “PlayStation 5 is in its fourth year, and we're at a stage where we need to take a step back and look at what our business needs. At the same time, our industry has suffered huge changes that impact the way we develop and play.”

Games question

Then Hulst touched directly on the issue of games: “Delivering the immersive, narrative-driven stories that PlayStation Studios is famous for, and delivering them at the quality we aspire to, requires a reevaluation of how we operate.”

Then Hulst touched on the topic multiplatform: “Delivering and supporting social and online experiences – allowing PlayStation players to explore our worlds in different ways – as well as launching games on additional devices such as PC and Mobile, requires a different approach and resources.”

To address these production challenges, PlayStation Studios had to hire and get bigger. Sony had to acquire new studios and invest in technologies and collaborations. The problem is that this growth is no longer sustainable at this time and PlayStation Studios must find a way to collaborate to reduce costs. Hence the dramatic decision: “We have looked at our studies and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and we have decided that some of those projects will not move forward.”

So it's likely that, in addition to the closure of London Studio, other projects have been canceled behind the scenes and will never see the light of day.