The reorganization of Sony’s Japan Studio, which has been responsible for PlayStation hits such as The Last Guardian, Bloodborne, Demon’s Souls PS5, and many others, begins today. The restructuring arrives after many of the Sony Japan Studio’s veterans announced they were leaving the company.
Rumors began to circulate late last year that the majority of the Japan Studio’s staff were laid off, prompting many to believe that the studio was going to shut down for good. In February, Sony announced that the studio would remain open, but would be reorganized to center around the ASOBI Team, the team of developers within the Japan Studio that created Astro’s Playroom. The other departments in the Studio, including localization, IP management, and external production, will move to PlayStation Studios, while first-party development elsewhere in the Studio is likely to cease entirely.
After news of the restructure surfaced, many of the Studio’s longtime developers began to leave the company en masse. The exodus began with Masaaki Yamagiwa and Ryo Sogabe, who both played key roles in the development of Bloodborne, announcing that they were leaving the company the same day that Sony made news of the restructuring public. Several other developers have also left the studio, including Silent Hill and Gravity Rush director Keiichiro Toyama, Demon’s Souls producer Teruyuki Toriyama, and Gravity Rush character designer Shunsuke Saito.
The latest developer to announce their departure is Demon’s Souls PS5 director Gavin Moore, who had worked for Sony for 24 years, including 18 years in the Japan Studio. Moore announced his departure today on Twitter, adding that he is excited to “seek out new and exciting opportunities.”
It seems that the departing developers are leaving Sony on good terms, and if any of them do have a grudge against the company, they have done a good job staying silent about it. Fortunately for PlayStation fans, most of the departing talent will continue to work as developers in the gaming industry. Toyama, for example, founded Bokeh Game Studio shortly after he left Sony. Several other former Sony Japan Studio employees have joined Bokeh. The studio is currently working on a horror title, though the untitled game is still a few years away from releasing.
As more longtime developers depart the Sony Japan Studio, it seems that IPs tied to the studio will now be the responsibility of PlayStation Studios. Sony created PlayStation Studios as the official branding for all of the company’s in-house developers, including studios such as Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Insomniac Games, and several others.
Source: IGN