PlayStation is laying off 8% of its global workforce | The Midweek Memo #007

Hello 👋

The bad news is back in full force this week. 🙁

PlayStation, Supermassive Games, and the ESL FACEIT Group have announced significant layoffs, with the former letting go of approximately 900 employees across its studios. PlayStation’s cuts have also resulted in the complete closure of London Studio and the cancelation of numerous internal projects.

Before the announcement of Sony's layoffs, the company provided an update on Bungie—which also let go of 8% of its workforce last year—stating that while its developers are “motivated and showing great creativity," management may be letting the team down.

Xbox is also in the news, but for a much more positive reason, as Phil Spencer has stated that the platform is still "supportive" of physical media and that removing the option to use discs would not be a "strategic thing."

Hot Jobs 🔥

Those looking for entry/junior-level roles are hopefully in for a treat this week:

[1] Community Manager
🏢 DECA Games 🌎 Remote Anywhere 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 1–2 years exp

[2] Bundle Product Operations Coordinator
🏢 Humble Bundle 🇺🇸 Remote USA 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 1–2 years exp

[3] Capture Artist (Racing)
🏢 EA 🇬🇧 Remote UK 📄 Contract 🎚️ 0+ years exp

[4] Developer Engagement Team
🏢 Roblox 🇺🇸 Remote USA 📄 Contract 🎚️ 1+ year exp

[5] QA Tester (Spanish)
🏢 Nintendo ​🇩🇪 Frankfurt am Main, HE 📄 Temp 🎚️ 0+ years exp

[6] Lead Game Producer
🏢 Yodo1 🌎 Remote Anywhere 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 5+ years exp

[7] QA Tester
🏢 Smoking Gun Interactive 🇨🇦 Vancouver, BC 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 1+ year exp

[8] German Community Manager - Videogames
🏢 Keywords Studios 🌎 Remote Anywhere 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 1+ year exp

[9] College and Career Coach/Esports Coach
🏢 Northeast Iowa Comm. College 🇺🇸 Calmar, IA 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 0+ years exp

[10] Level Designer
🏢 Squanch Games 🇺🇸 Remote USA 📄 Full Time 🎚️ 2+ years exp

If nothing on this list piques your interest, take a look at the 220+ new jobs posted in the last week. We’re wishing you luck if you apply for any! 🤞🤞

Big News 📰

💼 PlayStation is laying off around 8% of its workforce, shuts down London Studio

• Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it will lay off approximately 900 employees across its PlayStation studios, which includes staff at Guerrilla, Insomniac, Firesprite, and Naughty Dog, as well as its US-based technology, creative, and support teams.
  

• The company has also decided to close PlayStation London Studio, a developer best known for its VR games that was working on an upcoming co-op fantasy title.
  

• Hermen Hurst, the head of PlayStation Studios, also confirmed that several projects were canceled at "various stages of development." Although Hurst did not provide any further details, the London Studio game mentioned above is likely one of said canceled projects.

Other News 🗞️

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the layoff news this week, as Supermassive Games, the studio behind Until Dawn, has confirmed that it is "undertaking a reorganization," with approximately 90 employees affected. The ESL FACEIT Group is also laying off 15% of its workforce, which could impact as many as 300 people. 😫

Sony's recent financial update also provided more details about Bungie's current state following last year's wave of layoffs, with president Hiroki Totoki stating that the studio could be more responsible for its development resources and timelines.

Moving on from the latest round of devastating updates, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has responded to concerns about physical media dying in gaming, stating that Xbox is still "supportive" of the format. The company is still expected to release a digital-only revision of the Series X later this year.

There is also a big update for Baldur's Gate 3 fans, as Larian has announced that it is working on official cross-platform mod support for “some time later this year,” which should address the ongoing issue of updates breaking existing mods.

😞 Until Dawn developer Supermassive to lay off 90 employees

👔 Sony president believes Bungie needs to assume more “accountability for its development timelines”

💿 Xbox is still "supportive" of physical media, says Phil Spencer

⚔️ Baldur's Gate 3 is receiving cross-platform mod support

Getting Social 📲

Here’s a peek at two of our top LinkedIn posts from the last seven days:

It's time for another junior-level job roundup, and this week's list is packed with great opportunities!

Nintendo, EA, and Ubisoft are on the hunt for staff in various departments across their European and North American offices, while Keywords and DECA Games have some top-tier global remote positions available.

If nothing in this week's thread fits your needs, you can find many more junior vacancies on our platform. We hope there’s something for you there! 🙏

TeaserPlay's vision of a Shrek open-world game built in Unreal Engine 5 sparked everyone's imagination this week! 👹

With high-quality models and impressive lighting, the fantasy world of the beloved film series looks fantastic in the video, with Shrek and Donkey riding on Dragon's back and getting into an altercation with the guards.

It did make us wonder what type of open-world game this would be, perhaps a co-op title? An Elder Scrolls-like experience? Or maybe Shrek's new adventure would be a genre-breaking masterpiece.

Sadly, it is all just a concept right now, but you can see more of TeaserPlay's incredible work on their YouTube channel.

Farewell ✌️

Well, this wasn't the newsletter we had wanted to write after a string of more positive ones. We truly thought things were looking up on the layoffs front.

More importantly, we wish the best for those affected not only by this week's layoffs but also by the many others that have occurred over the last 18 months.

It's always upsetting to read about, but we'll continue working hard to bring you new job opportunities daily to try and lighten the load.

Best wishes from all of us here,

Danny and the gang at Hitmarker 🧡