One of Sony’s biggest first-party studios has just been hit by an upsetting layoff spree, leaving several members of the team without a job.
Sony has confirmed to IGN that layoffs have been made at Sucker Punch Productions. The following statement was issued:
SCEA can confirm a reduction in workforce has taken place at Sucker Punch Productions. Sucker Punch is appreciative of the tremendous work team members contributed to the inFAMOUS and Sly Cooper series, and wishes them the best in their next endeavors.
Insider numbers place the size of the layoffs at around 20% of the studio’s size, making this a move that has pushed at least 20 people onto the job market. These team members mostly consist of programmers and artists.
Sucker Punch is prepared to release inFamous: First Light, a standalone DLC package that will debut on August 26th. Previously, it released inFamous: Second Son which was met with over one million sales and positive reception.
Related: inFamous Second Son Review
Some speculate that this is an unfortunate but common stage in the cycle of development for AAA studios that hire dozens if not hundreds of people during full production, then are left with much less work to be done during the pre-production of the next project.
It’s unclear what Sucker Punch Productions is currently working on, but it has only made inFamous games since 2009. A change of pace might be in the cards, which could be reason for the layoffs.
