A few years ago, gaming giants Microsoft (Xbox) and Sony (PlayStation) both went on an acquisition spree, buying studios left and right. Xbox went pretty big in some cases, the acquisition of Bethesda/ZeniMax Media being proof enough of that, but it seemed PlayStation was being more strategic at the time. Between 2018 and 2022, Xbox acquired Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment, inXile Entertainment, Double Fine Productions, ZeniMax Media, and Activision Blizzard King. Between 2019 and 2022, PlayStation acquired Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software, Firesprite, Bluepoint Games, Housemarque, Valkyrie Entertainment, Haven Studios, Bungie, Neon Koi, and Firewalk.
The results, years later, have been devastating for both sides. Microsoft’s massive layoffs at Activision Blizzard King and across Xbox studios are no secret. Sony is not faring much better, with the recent decision to shutter Bluepoint Games shocking the industry. In fact, in glancing over the list of studios acquired by Sony since 2019, it’s clear that many have not changed for the better, with 60% of the studios experiencing widespread layoffs or being completely shuttered.
Bluepoint Games (Demon’s Souls, Shadow of the Colossus)
Bluepoint Games specializes in remasters/remakes, producing several high-quality titles for PlayStation over the years. Still, it was not fully acquired by them until this spree, with perhaps the most notable (and recent) of the bunch being the Demon’s Souls remake, a PS5 launch exclusive, and Shadow of the Colossus. It also assisted Santa Monica with God of War Ragnarok, and it’s worth noting that Santa Monica is also currently working on a God of War trilogy remake. After Ragnarok, Bluepoint Games worked on a live-service God of War game that was canceled, and everything at the studio went quiet until recently: Sony announced Bluepoint Games would close its doors in March 2026.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Insomniac Games (Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Wolverine)
Insomniac Games is a household PlayStation studio name, especially since its acquisition. It produced the beloved Marvel’s Spider-Man games and is set to release Marvel’s Wolverine in 2026. Despite this, it is not immune to the industry’s rocky landscape, with a broad workforce reduction overseen by Sony in 2024 affecting Insomniac Games. It was never confirmed how many folks were laid off.
Nixxes Software (Ports, Support)
Nixxes Software is a role player for PlayStation Studios, working largely on ports and offering support to the other studios. There are no known reports of layoffs at Nixxes Software, perhaps due to this specific niche. It is possible that Nixxes was impacted by the 2024 layoffs, but available industry reporting suggests that Nixxes is on the safe side of acquisitions, as of this writing.
Firesprite (Horizon Call of the Mountain)
Firesprite co-developed Horizon Call of the Mountain for PSVR2 with Guerrilla Games and has also done some work on Star Citizen. Firesprite was explicitly named among studios impacted by the February 2024 layoffs.
What’s more, a report from Eurogamer in 2024 states that crunch was imposed on Firesprite for Horizon Call of the Mountain‘s development after the acquisition, seeing staff and leadership leave. Sony’s XDev support studio reportedly took over after that, with allegations of a toxic workplace following.
Housemarque (Returnal, Saros)
Housemarque joins Nixxes on the safe side of acquisitions. No reported layoffs have impacted the studio, with its latest PS5 exclusive Saros releasing in April.
Valkyrie Entertainment (Support)
Valkyrie Entertainment has a long history of development support across the industry, with it joining PlayStation Studios as part of Sony’s acquisition spree. It joins Housemarque and Nixxes with no reported, widespread layoffs taking place.
Haven Studios (Fairgames)
Assassin’s Creed creator Jade Raymond founded Haven Studios in 2021, with it later being acquired by PlayStation in 2022. Raymond left Haven Studios in 2025. Haven Studios is working on a live-service game called Fairgames, which is focused on heists. While it is still active with no widespread reporting of layoffs, Raymond is not the only talent to have left the studio—suggesting there could be a talent retention issue there.
Bungie (Destiny, Marathon)
Bungie is best known for Halo and Destiny 2, with it preparing to release the new extraction shooter Marathon in March. Since its acquisition, Bungie has gone through at least two waves of layoffs, with reportedly ~100 employees being laid off in October 2023 and ~220 employees being laid off in July 2024.
Neon Koi (Mobile)
Originally called Savage Game Studios, Sony acquired Neon Koi in 2022 for its expansion into the mobile game space. It was shuttered in October 2024.
Firewalk (Concord)
Sony acquired Firewalk in April 2023, with the studio releasing the much-maligned hero shooter Concord in August 2024. 2 months later, in October 2024, Firewalk was shuttered.
