Layoffs have hit the video game industry particularly hard over the past year, and apparently, even the top developers have felt the effects as even Naughty Dog has reportedly laid off contractors.
Today, a report from Kotaku suggests that there have been numerous layoffs at Naughty Dog that were communicated internally. While many departments were allegedly affected, the report claims most of the cuts were made in the quality assurance testing. Unlike other layoffs that have plagued the video game industry like Epic Games, Unity, and CD Projekt RED, these layoffs contain ‘no severance’ for affected employees. Apparently, no full-time workers have been hit by these layoffs, but “at least 25 developers” were cut.
While The Last of Us Multiplayer (referred to as Factions) has not been named as the reason for the layoffs, it is the only reported game Naughty Dog is working on that has been given a name, besides “a brand new single-player experience” mentioned briefly in a Tweet published by the official Naughty Dog account back in May. The Tweet can be seen below, also mentioning the delay of development on The Last of Us multiplayer title, and is notably the only title mentioned as delayed.
This is the last fans have heard of ‘Factions.’ Naughty Dog stated “We’re incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far” and ultimately made the decision to “give it more time.” A Bloomberg report that May claimed Naughty Dog asked the newly acquired Bungie at Sony for an evaluation, and Bungie allegedly raised questions on how well the new multiplayer offering would keep players engaged, as Sony invested in “live-service” titles.
Naughty Dog has not made a public comment yet on the alleged layoffs, but The Last of Us Factions could be in serious trouble if the reports are corroborated by the company. Fans can follow the official Naughty Dog X account (formerly Twitter) to stay in the loop.
