Laid off from PlayStation.
PlayStation's 2026 ran studio by studio, Bluepoint closed in February, Dark Outlaw shuttered, then a June reduction across Bungie and SIE that put 292 Washington roles in one filing. Sony Interactive is the entity; the cuts land on the studios.
At a glance
What's known about PlayStation severance and layoffs
- 292 roles · Bungie/SIE Washington filing, July 2026
- Bluepoint, Dark Outlaw · Studios closed in 2026
- About 70 roles · Bluepoint closure, February 2026
- Not published · Individual severance terms
- Notice plus pay in lieu, 60 days · Notice terms in the Washington filing
- About 12,300, up 200 on the year · Sony Game and Network Services staff, March 2026
- 120.1 billion yen · Bungie impairment, Sony year to March 2026
- Filed in Washington under SIE names · Firewalk Studios closure, October 2024
Recent PlayStation layoffs
The Bungie and SIE reduction
Sony Interactive told staff on June 25, 2026 that it was cutting most of the Destiny team, some of the Marathon team, and SIE staff who support Bungie. The Washington filing covers 292 roles at the Bellevue site, with separations effective July 9. No company total came with the announcement.
Previous rounds
PlayStation layoff history
PlayStation restructures at the studio level, which makes its cuts lumpy and total. The June 2026 round arrived as a joint Washington filing from Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiary Bungie, Inc., covering roughly 292 employees at the Bellevue site, with staff notified on June 25 and separations effective July 9. Hermen Hulst, who runs Sony Interactive's Studio Business Group, told employees the same day that the reduction took in most of the Destiny team, some of the Marathon team, and the SIE teams supporting Bungie's operations. No company headcount came with that announcement, and estimates at the time ran between 200 and 500 people, so the filed 292 is the only counted number the round produced.
The naming matters the moment you file for benefits or read a separation agreement. Sony's annual report to the SEC describes Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC as the company running product research, development, design, marketing, sales, distribution and customer service for PlayStation hardware, software, content and network services, with Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. in Japan and Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Ltd. beside it. The same filing records that Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC acquired Bungie in July 2022. The Bellevue notice was signed out of Sony Interactive's San Mateo office, and it calls Bungie a subsidiary rather than a partner studio.
The pattern behind that filing runs back two years, and the tracker holds two older rows under the same corporate names. In February 2024 Sony Interactive announced a plan to cut about 900 people, roughly 8 percent of its workforce, across the Americas, EMEA, Japan and APAC, with London Studio proposed for closure in its entirety and reductions at Firesprite; California carries a filing under Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC from that period. Bungie cut 220 of its own that July, 17 percent of the studio, and moved 155 further roles into SIE. October 2024 closed Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios and sunset Concord for good, and Washington carries that closure as a filing naming Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC alongside Firewalk, the same joint shape the Bungie notice took two years later. Bluepoint Games was reported closing in February 2026, with around 70 people affected, the shutdown set for the month after and a Sony spokesperson pointing to a recent business review.
Sony's filings carry numbers its announcements skip. The Game and Network Services segment employed about 12,700 people at the end of March 2024, about 12,100 a year later, and about 12,300 at the end of March 2026, so across those two years the segment finished around 400 people smaller while ending the last of them larger than the year before. That segment counts hardware and network services alongside the studios, and its year closed before the Bungie round landed. In the same year Sony booked impairment losses against Bungie's intangible and other assets of 31.5 billion yen in its second quarter and 88.6 billion yen in its fourth, 120.1 billion yen in all, and reported segment operating income up 48.4 billion yen to a record high. The filing draws no line between those figures and any of the cuts.
The only exit package described on the record across these rounds came from Bungie in July 2024, when its chief executive said departing staff would get severance, bonus and health coverage. Sony Interactive's 2024 announcement said affected employees would receive support including severance benefits, and named no figure; the 2026 memo promised transition support and help finding openings across SIE studios. The Washington filing adds the one hard term on record, a combination of notice and pay in lieu of notice equaling the 60 days federal WARN and Washington law require, with benefits information sent separately. Check which of those you actually got, and read the attributed statements, the notice and the benefits materials against what your own agreement says. Washington and California hold the largest US sites and both have state pages here. Game credits travel better than employers do, so secure your credit documentation and portfolio materials before your access ends.
Reporting on previous PlayStation layoff rounds
June 2026 · A reduction in force across Bungie and partner SIE studios, undisclosed totals with estimates in the hundreds, and 292 roles in the Washington filing
February 2026 · Bluepoint Games closed, about 70 roles, with Dark Outlaw Games shuttered in the same stretch and reporting flagging more restructuring ahead
October 2024 · Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios both closed and Concord was permanently sunset, with placement offered to some of those affected where possible
July 2024 · Bungie cut 220 roles, 17 percent of the studio, across every department, and moved 155 further roles into SIE
Bungie's chief executive at the time described a "generous" exit package with severance, bonus and health coverage.
2024 · About 900 roles, 8% of SIE, including London Studio's closure, in the prior industry-wide round
How PlayStation's layoffs compare to other companies
Sony cuts by studio where Epic and Cloudflare cut by percentage and published terms. Studio closures are total for the people in them, and the pattern of 2026, closures plus rolling reductions with nothing disclosed, sits at the opposite disclosure pole from the industry's best packages.
What to do after being laid off from PlayStation
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. PlayStation's biggest hubs: Washington, California, Texas. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what PlayStation's hub states run: Washington, California, Texas, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
PlayStation layoff and severance questions
What severance is PlayStation paying in the studio layoffs?
Sony's put no terms on record for any of the 2026 rounds. What the Washington filing does say is that affected staff got a combination of notice and pay in lieu of notice adding up to the 60 days federal WARN and Washington law require, and that benefits information went out separately. Notice pay is a statutory minimum rather than a package. Your own agreement is the only place your terms live.
Is Bungie still independent from PlayStation?
Less so with every round. Sony's annual report to the SEC records that Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC acquired Bungie in July 2022. In July 2024 the studio moved 155 roles into SIE alongside 220 cuts of its own, and the June 2026 reduction was announced by PlayStation's studio chief and covered Bungie and SIE support teams together. The Washington notice calls Bungie a subsidiary.
My PlayStation studio closed entirely. What's different for me?
A full closure means everyone from leadership to support exits at once into the same local market, which argues for casting wider than gaming immediately. Sony has offered internal placement in past closures, as it said it would for Neon Koi and Firewalk staff in 2024, for some of those affected where possible, and the June 2026 memo promised transition support and help finding openings across SIE studios. Ask which of those openings actually exist while you still have access, and get whatever you're told in writing.
Which company actually laid me off, Sony or PlayStation?
PlayStation is the brand. The employing entity on the Washington filing is Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, the company Sony's own filing describes as running research, development, design, marketing, sales and network services for PlayStation, with sister companies in Japan and Europe. That notice was signed out of Sony Interactive's San Mateo office and calls Bungie its subsidiary. Check the entity named on your own separation paperwork, because that's the employer name a benefits claim or a lawyer will ask you for.
Did PlayStation file a WARN notice for my layoff?
Our tracker holds three all-time filings under Sony Interactive names, and one filing covering 292 jobs since the start of 2025. The three are the 2026 Bungie and SIE joint notice in Washington, a second Washington filing naming Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC with Firewalk Studios, and a California filing under Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Plenty of PlayStation cuts arrive with nothing in our tracker behind them, the Bluepoint and Dark Outlaw closures included. Look your employer name and site up on our WARN filings tracker, compare the dates against the notice you got, and check your state rules and the federal ones for whether your layoff should have been filed at all.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from PlayStation?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. PlayStation's biggest U.S. hubs are Washington, California, Texas. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at PlayStation?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at PlayStation?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from PlayStation?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.