UPDATE: Media Molecule has issued a statement confirming reports of layoffs and promising an update on future plans at a later date.
A message from Media Molecule. pic.twitter.com/tV4ZNkdgAF
— Media Molecule (@mediamolecule) October 24, 2023
ORIGINAL STORY: The video game industry layoffs continue, this time at Dreams developer Media Molecule.
GLHF reported the Sony-owned studio is making around 20 staff redundant in a bid to reduce headcount from 135 to 115.
Media Molecule is the veteran Guildford-based studio co-founded by Mark Healey, Alex Evans, David Smith, and Kareem Ettouney, all former developers at now-shuttered Fable creator, Lionhead. Media Molecule is most famous for creating the LittleBigPlanet series for PlayStation. The first game came out on PlayStation 3 in 2008 and, two years later, Sony bought the company, setting it to work on a sequel as well as PlayStation Vita platformer Tearaway.
Media Molecule’s latest game is Dreams, a game creation platform for PlayStation 4 released in 2020. Live support for Dreams ended last month, meaning that no more updates will be provided for the game and many community events will come to a close. Healey left the studio he set up 17 years ago back in April. Media Molecule said it had shifted focus to “an exciting new project”, without providing a timeframe for launch. IGN has asked Sony for comment.
2023 has seen a long list of studios suffer layoffs. Just last week, Cambridge studio Frontier announced sweeping redundancies. Embracer Group is currently embroiled in a restructure that’s seen layoffs and even studio closures, with Saints Row developer Volition shut down in the summer. Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has also seen a significant round of layoffs that have prompted the formation of a Polish union. Fortnite maker Epic Games recently laid off 830 employees, a move that seriously affected Mediatonic, the UK developer behind Fall Guys. More recently, Telltale Games reportedly laid off most of its workers, and Worms maker Team17 saw deep cuts.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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