Another game developer has entered in the large string of layoffs plaguing the games industry in 2023. According to Sports Illustrated’s GLHF, the UK game developer Media Molecule plans to lay off 15-20% of its 135 workforce. Sources said that its employees were recently informed about the layoffs in an internal meeting this morning.
Previously to being bought by Sony in 2010, Media Molecule was an independent game developer. After becoming apart of PlayStation Studios, the developer gained a large amount of success from its various games including LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, Tearaway, and Dreams.
Shortly after GLHF’s report, Media Molecule put out a statement on X, confirming the layoffs.
“We have had to make the difficult decision to begin the consultation process for team members within certain departments of the studio. This is a tough moment for the individuals impacted and the studio overall,” wrote the developer. “Every single role that has been put at risk is delivered by someone who has contributed something special to Media Molecule. We will make sure those impacted receive the best support we can provide during this process.”
Media Molecule has seen some amount of trouble in the past few years. Despite the 2020 release of it’s ambitious sandbox game Dreams, it didn’t manage to reach financial success. In April, Media Molecule announced it was stopping support for the game in September.
Media Molecule is the latest developer hit with layoffs, including studios within EA, Epic Games, Microsoft, CD Project Red, and more.