2023 continues to be an unfortunate year for the gaming industry as more people lose their jobs. The latest is PlayStation-owned studio Media Molecule, the developer of Dreams and LittleBigPlanet. The studio’s workforce dropped from 135 to 115. After reports arrived this morning about the news, the studio put out a statement on Twitter/X to confirm that it has begun “the consultation process for team members within certain departments.” You can read the full statement below.
Media Molecule, the Developer of Dreams and LittleBigPlanet, Is the Latest Studio to Face Layoffs
Originally reported from GLHF, this news comes a month after live support ceased for Dreams. The game earned attention in 2020 as the pandemic shut everything down, and players got a creative outlet. The end of support for the game comes to focus on its next, unannounced game. Players can still share and create content in the PS4 game.
It has been a year of many changes for Media Molecule, from its layoffs to losing one of its co-founders. Earlier this year, Mark Healey left to move on to something new after co-founding the studio in 2006.
Media Molecule is far from the first studio to face layoffs this year. The video game industry continues to prove unstable despite its profitability. Epic cut about 900 jobs; Embracer has shut down multiple studios; Team17 let go of multiple positions, including its CEO; TellTale Games lost most of its employees; and The Callisto Protocol studio Striking Distance lost a portion of its workforce.
A PlayStation-owned studio with these issues came in the same week Spider-Man 2 broke a sales record for selling 2.5 million copies in 24 hours. While the industry can succeed, it continues to be an unstable place for developers.
