What in hell is going on at Sony Computer Entertainment?

[Electro UK]

This should be a great time for Sony Computer Entertainment. The PlayStation 4 is out and it's selling very well. You'd presume that each of the company's many first-party studios would be happily busy chipping away at their first projects for the system, preparing to bring the heat at this E3 with a slew of announcements etc.

Except, y'know, everyone is leaving.

The last few weeks have seen a slew of high-profile departures, layoffs and a major cancellation at studios under the SCE umbrella. The company had previously shut down three studios after the launch of its PS Vita - Zipper, BigBig and Sony Liverpool, but they'd each put out one last game for the platform and weren't anywhere near as big as the studios that have suffered lately.

Let's review the facts.

1. Layoffs at Sony Santa Monica and the cancellation of a major new IP

2. Uncharted writer Amy Hennig departs Naughty Dog

3. SCEA President Jack Tretton leaves the company

4. God of War III director Stig Asmussen leaves Sony Santa Monica

5. Evolution Studios director leaves

6. Layoffs at Sony London, Guerrilla Cambridge, Evolution Studios

7. Seth Killian leaves Sony Santa Monica

8. Uncharted 4 director Justin Richmond leaves Naughty Dog

Now I could sort of believe up until point 6 that there wasn't much behind all of this. This is a transitional time for the company, and number 1 and 4 are connected, assuming Asmussen was working on the cancelled IP. The layoffs at UK studios were also seemingly an unfortunately routine affair.

But when you add on another two departures of this caliber, it's painfully clear all is not right behind the scenes. Henning and Richmond were confirmed as working on Uncharted 4 last year. They're arguably the two most important members of the project. And they're gone. Santa Monica had been working on its project for a long time, even going as far as teasing it in the last God of War. And now it's no more.

It's a painful situation to be left in the dark in. Sony demonstrated a developer-friendly attitude last generation that was to be commended, and now we have these very uncharacteristic events. What does everyone think is happening?

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

It's March. End of Sony's fiscal calendar.

The SSM project got cancelled because it supposedly was a wee bit too much like Destiny. At least that's the gossip. And they have a partnership with Activision on that. I don't care for more God of War either.

Sony's been in relative bad shape financially compared to their peers for quite a long time. It was bound to have repercussions. Hirai is cleaning house all over the company outside of the video game part. And they're like going crazy on this Spider-Man movie franchise into the future because the studio has gotten so dependent upon it as a profit generator.

 

[Havok83]

It's March. End of Sony's fiscal calendar.

and bingo, we have an answer

 

[StrainedEyes]

Tretton left because he was as high as he could be at Sony and wanted to do something else, there's no underlying agenda there.

Justin Richmond's statement after leaving ND sounded like he wanted to go somewhere where he could do more unique things, instead of being stuck in the Uncharted studio.

Layoffs happen at the end of a fiscal year because Sony looks over everything that is losing them money and makes needed cuts. Sony as a whole is not in the greatest spot, most of their divisions are losing money and they are tightening up as much as possible. It's unfortunate that so many people lost jobs, but that unfortunately happens a lot in this business.

 

[Benstamania]

It's March. End of Sony's fiscal calendar.

The SSM project got cancelled because it supposedly was a wee bit too much like Destiny. At least that's the gossip. And they have a partnership with Activision on that. I don't care for more God of War either.

Sony's been in relative bad shape financially compared to their peers for quite a long time. It was bound to have repercussions. Hirai is cleaning house all over the company outside of the video game part. And they're like going crazy on this Spider-Man movie franchise into the future because the studio has gotten so dependent upon it as a profit generator.

This.

So many websites are putting up misleading headlines for hits but when it comes down to it it's not because Sony's in a heap of trouble.. It's because things like this happen. It sucks, but it happens.

Also..

2. Uncharted writer Amy Hennig departs Naughty Dog

It'll be denied but I fully believe Amy was forced out. Sometimes clashes happen in the work place and sometimes people with more pull can get people kicked to the curb. The ND team seem like a group of cool people but that doesn't mean that politics aren't played behind closed doors... Pretty much like every job.

 

[StrainedEyes]

The director of Evolution Studios responded to a Neogaf post to explain why he left:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=106121033&postcount=1393

Basically his son was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome and due the distance between his home and the studio, he was away for 5 and a half days a week. He decided to leave to spend more time with his family.

He is also going to start up an indie studio. The majority of people leaving major devs over the last few months have been to focus on smaller, more creative/unique projects. I think it's just a testament to how creatively draining working on AAA franchises can be. In the end, this will get us a lot more unique experiences to play.

 

[Benstamania]

Good for him then! Family comes first, bravo.