Summary
Recently discovered data from theInsomniac Gamesleaks show that Sony pressured the studio to lay off some of its employees to cut costs. Layoffs in game studios were among thebiggest video game news stories of 2023, so it’s not surprising to see new mentions of this unfortunate trend.
Earlier this week, hackers who breached Insomniac Games’ database released around 1.67 TB of confidential data regarding the company’s future. This massive leak included information aboutthe next five games Insomniac will release, including unannounced titles like anX-Mengame set to be out in 2030. Among the leaked information, there were also many details about the upcomingWolverinegame, including an alpha PC build of the title. Now, as people dig deeper into these leaks, more information is surfacing.
Recently, some files in the leak revealed that Sony pressuredInsomniac Gamesto make budget cuts.According to IGN, Sony requested the company to remove around 50 to 75 people from the studio and recommended the teams from the upcomingWolverineandSpider-Man 3be cut and replaced with members fromRatchet and Clank. Part of the reason for these layoffs was Sony’s worry about the growth of development costs at the studio. Sony was concerned thatSpider-Man 2cost around $30 million more than its original budget, which was already $270 million, and needed to sell over 7 million units to turn a profit. As the game reportedly sold over 5 million units in the first two weeks after its release, it’s likely to hit that mark, though.
The leaked documents also show that Sony tried to cut staff from many of its other first-party studios, although names were not officially revealed. Looking back at the layoffs of some of Sony’s first-party studios, it’s possible to notice that theVisual Arts Group laid off several senior designersback in October, while Media Molecule diminished its workers from 135 to 115 around the same time.
2023 was a difficult year for the gaming industry. While several excellent games such asBaldur’s Gate 3,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, andAlan Wake 2came out in 2023, it was also full of companies laying off employees. Big names likeUnity laid off a total of over 1,100 employeesover four rounds of layoffs between 2022 and 2023, with others such as ByteDance firing 1,000 people, and Embracer Group letting around 950 workers go. Companies like BioWare, Riot Games, Take-Two Interactive, CD Projekt Red, and Electronic Arts also diminished their workforce, showing how widespread the trend is in the gaming industry.
