The video game industry is currently experiencing a wave of layoffs. This wave is affecting contract developers at PlayStation’s first-party studio, Naughty Dog. The studio is renowned for titles like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us Part II. This news left fans surprised as Naughty Dog has been a successful studio pumping out hit after hit.

The studio has recently initiated a round of layoffs. The studio’s employees in Santa Monica, California, have received this information internally. However, there has been no official statement from Naughty Dog about the layoffs.

Naughty Dog plans to lay employees off

Various departments within Naughty Dog have been impacted by these layoffs, including art and production. However, the majority of those affected were employees in the quality assurance (QA) testing department. Reports indicate that at least 25 developers have lost their jobs. However, it appears that full-time staff members at the company have not been included in the layoffs. As of July, Naughty Dog had a total headcount of over 400 employees.

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One significant aspect of these layoffs is that no severance packages are being offered to the affected employees. This can have serious financial implications for those who lost their jobs. Both the employees who were laid off and those who remain employed at the studio are reportedly under pressure to keep this news quiet. Affected employees are expected to continue working through the rest of the month, and the layoffs won’t be officially finalized until the end of October. As of the time of the report, Sony, the parent company of Naughty Dog, had not provided an official comment on the situation.

The Last of Us Multiplayer on hold

The layoffs at Naughty Dog come in the context of game development challenges. A multiplayer spin-off project based on The Last Of Us faced difficulties. Resources shifted after a negative review by Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2. The lack of resources has put the spin-off effectively on hold.

Will There Be Any Season Two Updates on The Last of Us Day?

The layoffs followed Evan Wells’ retirement, co-president at Naughty Dog for 19 years. Neil Druckmann, creative director, and co-writer for the HBO adaptation of The Last Of Us, restructured the studio’s leadership.

Naughty Dog isn’t alone in gaming layoffs. 343 Industries, Xbox’s Halo studio, also had significant cuts back in January. Major companies like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Epic Games, and Embracer reported layoffs recently.

Sony aimed to sell 25 million PS5s this fiscal year, despite industry challenges. That being said, Naughty Dog’s layoffs reflect industry-wide challenges. Lack of severance and confidentiality pressure worry professionals. Watching employees get laid off is difficult as the gaming industry brings in billions of dollars. This is slowly becoming a major problem in the sector and the community waits for a solution from the gaming moguls.

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