Sony Santa Monica hit by layoffs

God of War mainline series developer Sony Santa Monica has been hit by layoffs today. The story was originally reported by IGN and Sony has confirmed in a statement to Gamasutra, which is reproduced below: “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.” The company did not offer any further details, including how many staff were affected. Gamasutra has reached out to the company for further comment. If you were affected by these layoffs, you can email Gamasutra to tell your story confidentially.