Sony San Diego Sees Layoffs

Earlier today, rumors began to emerge that Sony's San Diego Studio had laid off a number of their employees. Senior UI Artist Noah Watkins took to Twitter to announce his entire San Diego team had been let go. Gamasutra has reported that "approximately 50" jobs were cut, through the team behind the MLB The Show franchise were unaffected.

A Sony representative (Via GamesIndustry.biz) has confirmed the redundancies.  

“We can confirm there has been a reduction in headcount at San Diego Studio. The team working on MLB The Show have not been affected. We continually evaluate teams and programs at SIE Worldwide Studios to ensure we have the proper resources in place to deliver innovative products within a competitive landscape. As projects are completed, it is natural to review and restructure teams around current and future needs. We wish our departing team members success as they pursue new opportunities and we have nothing but heart-felt thanks for their contributions to PlayStation.”

According to unnamed sources, employees were informed shortly after arriving to work. Some have claimed this will only affect the free to play division. No word was given regarding the future of San Diego's free to play titles, Kill Strain, Drawn to Death, and Guns Up!

In related news, Sony has confirmed a number of "compulsory redundancies" will take place in their London studio.

San Diego is best known for their long running MLB The Show series, which first launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Since then, San Diego has co-developed a number of projects including, Modnation Racers, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and the upcoming Drawn To Death. Their most recent title, Kill Strain, received mixed reviews when it was released in July. Though it has continued to receive a number content updates since then.

San Diego was also a supporter of PlayStation's less successful projects. Nearly all releases of MLB The Show were ported to the PSP and Vita. Their collaborations with Zindagi Games produced Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest and the Sport's Champions series for the PlayStation 3's Move motion controller.

We'll continue to update as more details are revealed.