Layoffs at Naughty Dog; Online Installment of The Last of Us Could be Affected
Kotaku reports on layoffs at PlayStation's leading studio, Naughty Dog. The job cuts could mean the „death” of the multiplayer project from The Last of Us universe.
Recently many game developers have had to come to terms with loss of employment. The latest reports suggest that not even the absolute gaming giants have escaped job cuts.
Kotaku reports, that the leading PlayStation studio, Naughty Dog, team behind such hits as the series The Last of Us or Uncharted, has begun terminating the contracts of its associates.
According to Kotaku's sources the layoffs began last week and involved contract workers for the studio located in the city of Santa Monica, California (USA).
A total of 25 people from various departments were to said to have eneded their cooperation with Naughty Dog, ranging from artist, through producers, to quality testers. It was the latter who were to suffer the most from the downsizing at the US studio.
It is worth noting that, according to the sources, the layoffs at ND did not include full-time employees.
The people whom Neil Druckmann's studio has laid off are still expected to perform their duties until the end of October. Kotaku also reports that those laid off have not been offered any kind of severance pay.
Naughty Dog's problematic project
The recent layoffs at the studio may negatively affect the project commonly called Factions, a multiplayer spin-off to The Last of Us, which already according to May reports from Bloomberg was said to be facing major development problems.
As relayed by the source, the move may prove to be the nail in the proverbial coffin of the project, whose future is now uncertain. According to the source Factions has not yet been completely canceled, but development has been "left for dead".
It is possible that the resignations of Naughty Dog associates are the aftermath of restructuring changes in the studio's management, which Neil Druckmann mentioned some time ago.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that only in recent months such companies as CD Projekt, Team17 or Electronic Arts have reported laying off their employees. Another industry giant has also recently decided to make a sizable reduction in its workforce in the face of crisis - Epic Games.
