Sony-acquired studio Firesprite has recently suffered high profile exits amid accusations of a toxic workplace culture, Eurogamer has been told, as part of an investigation into the studio begun ahead of the layoffs announced by Sony this week.
The Liverpool-based developer released PlayStation VR2 launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain last year, after being acquired by Sony in 2021. But the impact of crunch for that game’s release and changes in the company’s senior leadership have subsequently led to discontent within the studio, staff have told Eurogamer – something one source described as “death by a thousand cuts”.
Most concerning are reports from sources that two senior leaders from Sony support studio XDev, brought in to help lead Firesprite, have since been accused of sexual discrimination and ageism. A subsequent internal investigation by Sony is said to have resulted in the claims being dismissed as a “misunderstanding”.
Job cuts at Firesprite were announced earlier this week as part of mass layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment. Around 900 SIE employees (equating to eight percent) will lose their jobs, though it’s unclear how many at Firesprite are impacted. Bloomberg reported that the studio’s live service Twisted Metal project was cancelled as a result of the job losses. Eurogamer understands the studio was also separately working on another high profile game in a Sony franchise.