Sony Santa Monica hit with Round of Layoffs, New IP gets Canceled

The house that Kratos built has just gotten a little bit smaller as Sony Santa Monica is letting go of 50 employees. This news follows on the heels of last week's closure of Irrational Games, which will be leaving the Bioshock series in the hands of a new developer.

God of War: Ascension underperformed both critically and commercially, but it seems that team is not being affected by the layoffs. Surprisingly, the team being laid off was led by Stig Asmussen- the guy who was responsible for the good GoW games after David Jaffe left the studio. The team was working on an original IP that is rumored to have been heavily sci-fi based. One of the laid off devs has also said the game had been in development since 2010.

While we'll likely never see the canceled title, that doesn't stop the speculation. Sources that outed the layoffs are saying the game was too similar to Bungie's Destiny. Sony has given an official statement to IGN, but it leaves a lot to the imagination:

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.

This seems to follow a trend I mention in my article about the fall of AAA developers. Sequels seem to be taking priority over originality, and it is a safe bet that Sony Santa Monica is working hard on a PS4 God of War title. Microsoft owned Black Tusk Studio was also working on a new IP for the Xbox One, only to be re-assigned to working on the next Gears of War game. Similarly in 2010, Call of Duty creators Vince Zampella and Jason West were fired by Activision for wanting to work on a new IP after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Maybe it is for the best that these Irrational Games and Sony Santa Monica employees have to find new jobs. There is much more room for creativity in indie game development, without a publisher and executives breathing down your neck. I'm sure that doesn't sooth the sting from losing a steady paycheck, so I do wish them all luck on landing on their feet.