Firesprite lays off Horizon director Alex Barnes
Image thru Firesprite/PlayStation.
Layoffs possess hit PlayStation subsidiary Firesprite, which let shuffle of sport director Alex Barnes as of late. At time of writing, the actual preference of affected staff (him incorporated) is unclear.
Barnes, who’d been with the corporate for seven years, directed its 2023 sport Horizon: Call of the Mountain. On Twitterhe called it a “tough time” in most novel months, whereas thanking those who’ve “persisted serving to every completely different thru all this.”
In February, Sony Interactive Leisure announced its plans to diminish 900 jobs as fraction of a reevaluation of its operations. Alongside with Firesprite, Sony London, Playful Dog and Insomniac Video games had been hit with redundancies or fully shut down.
Firesprite’s Zigzag Metal used to be a casualty
Beyond the layoffs, Firesprite’s subsequent project used to be reportedly canceled as fraction of the reevaluation. It is claimed the UK studio used to be making a unique live-service Zigzag Metal sport that used to be said to be in early pattern.
“[Everyone] at Firesprite and Guerrilla that pulled together to assemble Call of the Mountain had been a number of of basically the most proficient and devoted builders I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” persisted Barnes. “It is been the glory of a lifetime to had been a Game Director with a team treasure this.”
Earlier than SIE made the layoff call in February, it used to be alleged Firesprite suffered an “alarming” staff exodus. Dilapidated staff accused two unnamed senior leaders of sexual discrimination, and the studio broadly of a toxic work culture.
One ex-employee wrote a Glassdoor evaluation claiming the developer’s culture “fully nosedived. Shame that what used to be previously a unbelievable location to work has been so destroyed.”
The blame used to be levied on the then-unique studio heads, along with Sony itself. Firesprite staff reportedly speculated Sony ousted the usual founders, and further doomed the corporate with “loss of life by a thousand cuts.”
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Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for a complete lot of websites along side IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. As successfully as to Game Developer, his writing would perchance even be came upon at io9 over on Gizmodo. Invent no longer ask him about how great gum he’s had, for the explanation that resolution will be more than he’s engaging to admit.
