Earlier this week Sony surprised everyone by officially revealing the PlayStation 5, along with some early details on the device, but it turns out this overshadowed some more concerning news from Sony Interactive Entertainment in Europe.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the same day that the PS5 was revealed, dozens of European staff were made redundant, with directors from the US visiting SIEE in London to announce the changes, affecting marketing and PR.
This comes from alleged inside sources, who say that those affected were given notice and meetings were arranged for those who needed to re-interview.
The creative services team in the US also suffered layoffs, as one employee shared on Twitter, although VGC says one source told them that SIE in America has grown its influence over the last year, restructuring to move into the global lead, even giving Europe orders.
VGC talked to various SIEE employees, who said that the European side will have far less influence during the next console generation. Speaking of the PS5, the report adds that European employees were allegedly unaware of the decision to announce details via Wired, and only found out about the articles when they went live. They're also often unaware of the content of State of Play streams too.
Nothing came from SIEE to suggest the timing of the layoffs was intentional, but employees were dissatisfied that it happened at the same time as the PS5 reveal.
What does the future hold for Sony and the PS5?