Sony’s Firesprite Studio has been accused of fostering a poisonous work setting and ignoring complaints of office misconduct and harassment. An in-depth investigation of the claims by Eurogamer discovered that Firesprite — which Sony acquired in 2021 — was being led by two senior members of Sony’s XDev crew, each of whom had been investigated for claims of sexual discrimination and ageism made in opposition to them.
Sony’s Firesprite was lately hit by PlayStation layoffs
Eurogamer’s investigation started previous to Sony saying mass layoffs throughout PlayStation, which Firesprite was additionally impacted by. Not solely was the studio’s headcount diminished, its Twisted Steel dwell service sport was additionally canceled.
In accordance with sources talking on situation of anonymity, Sony dismissed the aforementioned claims in opposition to its XDev management, terming it a “misunderstanding.” Nevertheless, among the complainants started exploring authorized choices, following which they acquired a monetary settlement from Sony.
“Sony has dedicated the worst attainable mistake in shopping for a studio and meddling to the purpose the place it might find yourself in a dying spiral and unable to finish any of the initiatives it’s engaged on,” one among Eurogamer’s sources stated. Nevertheless, some sources countered that by saying that Firesprite wanted the inner modifications that got here with its acquisition by PlayStation.
