Sony Online announces layoffs

By Tom Bramwell Published 16 July, 2010

Free Realms publisher cuts 41 jobs.

Sony Online Entertainment has laid off 41 employees.

The publisher told IndustryGamers that the move was part of a drive "to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs".

Sony Online Entertainment is the publisher of massively multiplayer titles EverQuest and Free Realms.

The latter, a free-to-play kids' MMO, claims to have 10 million registered players on PC and is expected to launch on PlayStation 3 later this year.

Check out our Free Realms review elsewhere on the site.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (9) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Doctor_What #1 2 years ago

    Good luck to the SOE employees, but with their experience in this climate of 'quick! We must make micropayment MMOs!' I think they'll find jobs pretty easily. Still, even with that, they'll probably have to move and uproot their families. Poor buggers - sometimes this industry sucks.

  • RodHull #2 2 years ago

    Is this all because someone said Free Realms was insipid? Bit of a knee jerk reaction if you ask me.

  • Mkwone #3 2 years ago

    Is there any link to the recent influx of layoffs?

    I mean we've not heard anything for a while and then three cases in a week.

  • onezeonx #4 2 years ago

    i blame lag.....

  • Xboxfanuk #5 2 years ago

    When did SOE realise that Everquest (their biggest money maker) doesn't need a console release for PS3 (even just a port of Online Adventures). And when did SOE stop advertising and promoting Everquest. And when did SOE stop giving any details on a new EQ?

    That is why they are dying is because they left the core products and start chasing the stupidity which is the Agency and Free Realms. Blizzard is busy making Starcraft II and Diablo 3 and SOE is busy wasting time and pissing on their best game.

  • Thedni #6 2 years ago

    Surely it would be more "cost effective" to just boot Mr Smedley, I imagine he's on an ungodly level of pay.

    [This message carries no venom or prejudices against SOE or SOE staff despite them ruining SWG, twice over. Honest!]

    **edit disclaimer!
    Edited by Thedni at 16/07/10 @ 12:33

  • RandomTerrain #7 2 years ago

    uuniao's message is spam, please delete, ban, etc. ^^^^

    Too many job cuts at the moment, it's making me nervous.. good luck to them finding something else soon.

  • onezeonx #8 2 years ago

    i just ignore that shit

    fucking retards

  • overcorpse #9 2 years ago

    Peeps got to make a living somehow :/