Naughty Dog reportedly lays off dozens of contractors
Sources tell Kotaku The Last of Us studio is not giving severance and pressuring employees to keep the news quiet
Naughty Dog is laying off at least 25 developers this month with no severance, according to a Kotaku report.
Citing two sources familiar with the situation, the outlet said the cuts are coming from the studio's contractor workforce, and do not include full-time employees.
While the layoffs span a variety of departments, most of the people losing work are coming from the QA team.
Sources told Kotaku that management has pressured employees to keep news of the cuts quiet.
The layoffs are the latest turn in an eventful year for the studio.
While its series The Last of Us spawned a hit HBO TV series, the studio has also seen co-president Evan Wells announce his retirement as development on the multiplayer spin-off of The Last of Us ran into problems.
Kotaku reports that project hasn't yet been cancelled, but is effectively shelved for now.
When Naughty Dog announced its difficulties with the multiplayer game, it also confirmed it had begun work on a new single-player title.
Sony representatives did not immediately return our request for comment.