PlayStation Studio Media Molecule Lays off 15% of Staff

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Avinash Jaisrani

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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Layoffs are becoming more and more of a norm in the gaming industry. Developers are going through a challenging period as a result of major companies like PlayStation, CDPR, and Epic Games laying off a substantial number of their employees.

Following recent layoffs at Naughty Dog, the developer behind Dreams and the Little Big Planet IP, Media Molecule, is facing layoffs, with nearly 15% of its entire workforce being cut down.

Why it matters: This is far from an isolated incident, highlighting the dire state of the industry currently. Such incidents could also lead to more unionization, with developers looking for better job security.

The developer revealed this unfortunate news in an internal meeting today, according to Sports Illustrated’s GLHF. Media Molecule intends to lay off 20 of its 135 employees, which is a large number for a developer of this size.

Last month, the studio released its final update for Dreams. As a game aiming to empower creatives with a platform for content creation, Dreams may have failed to live up to PlayStation’s expectations.

Elsewhere, studios like PlayStation Visual Arts have laid off developers this year. Other developers like Naughty Dog have also struggled to find their footing with the standalone multiplayer project for The Last of Us.

This information comes after several other PlayStation developers confirmed they were laid off a few days ago. Therefore, PlayStation appears to have taken a significant hit from the current economic turmoil, like other studios around the world.

Nonetheless, this is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved. We wish the people affected the best of luck in their future pursuits and hope that these layoffs don’t leave a lasting impact on them.

As for the future of Media Molecule, the studio remains afloat. Despite being limited to Dreams in recent years, the team is working on a new project, but little is known about this game at the moment.

Avinash Jaisrani

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