Sony Santa Monica, the studio best known for its work on the God of War series, has suffered layoffs today. Sony representatives confirmed the dismissals with IGN, citing "resource re-alignment against priority growth areas" within Sony Worldwide Studios as the cause. The statement reads:
"SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio. This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within SCE WWS. We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted."
Sony Santa Monica most recently shipped God of War: Ascension. Currently, the studios is working on three collaborations due to launch this year: Hohokum with Honeyslug; The Order: 1886 with Ready at Dawn; and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture with The Chinese Room. It's currently unclear how these layoffs will affect ongoing projects, so we've contacted Sony for clarification. We wish the best of luck to those affected.