PlayStation is set to close its London Studio as parent company Sony decides to reduce its global workforce by 8%.
The video game giant is based at Royal London Asset Management’s 15 Great Marlborough Street, W1, where it occupies the entire 49,094 sq ft office building.
RLAM bought the Soho office scheme from UK Commercial Property REIT for £73.2m in 2018.
In an email to all staff Jim Ryan, president and chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said that following months of discussions, he and the business’s leadership team had “made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success”.
This will lead to a reduction in its headcount by about 900 people across the Americas, EMEA, Japan, and APAC, with several PlayStation Studios affected.
In the UK, it is proposed that PlayStation Studios’ London Studio will close in its entirety, as well as reductions in Guerrilla and Firesprite studios, and various functions across Sony in the UK.
The decision was attributed to factors including “the evolving economic landscape”, changes in the way the company develops, distributes, and launches products, and future-proofing the organisation.
Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, said: “We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and have decided that some of those projects will not move forward.”
The company will now enter a consultation period before final decisions are made.
See lettings information in London, W1 >>
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