PlayStation Visual Arts Service Group Hit With Layoffs - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 November 2023 / 3,814 Views
Several developers at the PlayStation Visual Arts Service Group appear to have been laid off, which was spotted by VideoGamesChronicles.
Senior level designer Daniel Bellemere via LinkedIn stated, "Unfortunately, following a wave of layoffs last week was my last at PlayStation. While this is certainly not news I was hoping for, I'm grateful to have had a chance to work amongst extremely talented colleagues on incredible projects and I'm leaving with good memories of my time there."
Matt Barney, another former employee, said, "Goodbye PlayStation / Sony Interactive Entertainment, it’s been real! For the past few months, I knew this layoff wave was coming. I love PlayStation & I always will… I mean, I stayed when I had the chance to leave, so obviously!"
Multiple developers have stated on social media their contracts at PlayStation Visual Arts Service Group have ended. Though, it isn't clear if this was due to being laid off or if their contract term had ended.
"Hey everyone, my contract at PlayStation Visual Arts has unfortunately come to an end," said rigging artist Sean Teo, who worked on The Last of Us Part 1. "I am currently looking for a new role and I am flexible with working on video games, cinematic films, and commercial work."
PlayStation Visual Arts Service Group was founded in 2007 and is based in San Diego with the goal of growing PlayStation's biggest IPs.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Everyone is laying off no new news here
for a more complete description on who is the Visual Arts Service Group and what they do:
https://playstation-studios.fandom.com/wiki/Visual_Arts_Service_Group
PlayStation Studios Visual Arts, formerly Visual Arts Service Group, is an American animation and art production studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is part of PlayStation Studios' Creative Arts division. Based in San Diego, the company works with first-party game studios such as Naughty Dog, as well as third-party developers and publishers and non-video game entities, producing art, animation and technical support to video games, films and television series.
This seems like a strange decision with 10 studios acquisitions over the last 5 years and with strong output with series and movies based on PlayStation Ips you'd think a likewise team would be under heavy utilisation. I'd be curious to know more about why Matt Barney " knew this layoff wave was coming".
Anyway, hope them all the best going forward
