“Death by a thousand cuts.”
Job cuts at Firesprite were announced earlier this week as part ofmass layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Eurogamer understands the studio was also separately working on another high profile game in a Sony franchise.
Others told us they did not wish to take part in this investigation for fear of reprisal.
The overall picture they painted was of a very different Firesprite to the studio that existed before the buyout.
After work on several other PlayStation VR projects, Firesprite’s buyout by Sony did not spark surprise.
However, multiple events led to major changes in leadership at Firesprite.
All but one of the original Firesprite founders have now left the company over the past year.
One said: “It seems leadership doesn’t need to be earned.
And trust is gone.”
Had changes been made sooner, they said, they may have reconsidered leaving.
As it was, sources agree the impact of the acquisition was two-fold.
In the long term, sources say company culture has been shattered.
Meanwhile, other projects failed to progress as a result, leaving staff frustrated.
It’s not just burnout, it’s stress.
It’s people feeling unsupported."
“That’s bad management,” they said.
Further, Firesprite should seek fresh ways of thinking and leading from outside of Sony.
“There are lots of losses, but this stuff comes round.
Eurogamer contacted Sony for comment on this report but is yet to receive a response.
