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Sony studio Firesprite has been shedding talent amidst accusations of toxic culture, staff say
Sony-acquired studio Firesprite has recently suffered high profile exits amid accusations of a toxic workplace culture, Eurogamer has been told, as part of an investigation into the studio begun ahead of the layoffs announced by Sony this week.
The Liverpool-based developer released PlayStation VR2 launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain last year, after being acquired by Sony in 2021. But the impact of crunch for that game's release and changes in the company's senior leadership have subsequently led to discontent within the studio, staff have told Eurogamer - something one source described as "death by a thousand cuts".
Most concerning are reports from sources that two senior leaders from Sony support studio XDev, brought in to help lead Firesprite, have since been accused of sexual discrimination and ageism. A subsequent internal investigation by Sony is said to have resulted in the claims being dismissed as a "misunderstanding".
Job cuts at Firesprite were announced earlier this week as part of mass layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment. Around 900 SIE employees (equating to eight percent) will lose their jobs, though it's unclear how many at Firesprite are impacted. Bloomberg reported that the studio's live service Twisted Metal project was cancelled as a result of the job losses. Eurogamer understands the studio was also separately working on another high profile game in a Sony franchise.
Ahead of these layoffs, sources say an "alarming" number of employees had left the studio in recent months following a retention bonus payout in October, designed to reward staff for remaining on at the developer after the Sony acquisition for a further period of time.
Public employee reviews of Firesprite on company review site Glassdoor describe "horrendous" studio heads who are "way out of their depth" and "just care about their money", leading to a "toxic, bullying culture" and "culture of fear". One recent review takes a more sympathetic view, though, stating Firesprite's "old way" was disorganised and Sony has re-moulded the studio, which has "ruffled many feathers".
Eurogamer has spoken to a number of sources close to the company to understand the causes of this discontent, all of whom wished to remain anonymous for the sake of their careers. Others told us they did not wish to take part in this investigation for fear of reprisal.
All but one of the original Firesprite founders have now left the company over the past year. "The last of what made Firesprite a good place to work went with them," one source told Eurogamer. Sources we spoke to remain unclear as to why the founders left, and there's talk of a "domino effect". Internally, there has been speculation the founders were forced out by Sony rather than taking a voluntary exit, sources have said. The sudden departure of former studio head Graeme Ankers in May, for instance, was described by one source as simply "unbelievable" as, based on recent all-company meetings, he appeared to be planning for the studio's long-term future.
New leadership was subsequently brought in from Sony support studio XDev, something one source described as "classic nepotism". Staff we spoke to described the new bosses as either out of their depth or holding different values to Firesprite's original founders. One said: "It seems leadership doesn't need to be earned. And trust is gone." Another source described them as an "inadequate toxic mess", "tyrants" and "bullies" who treat people "like it's a factory".
Eurogamer understands an internal investigation took place after around 13 grievance complaints were submitted against two XDev leaders with regards to sexual discrimination and ageism. While sources say Sony dismissed these complaints as a misunderstanding, Eurogamer understands some of those involved explored legal options to take the matter further, and have since received a financial payout from Sony.
A push to hire specific talent prompted roles to be invented to hire specific people, sources say, only for this effort to be scuppered by a hiring freeze from Sony. "Sony has committed the worst possible mistake in buying a studio and meddling to the point where it may end up in a death spiral and unable to complete any of the projects it is working on," said one source.
https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-studio-f ... -staff-say