Sony Santa Monica studio suffers layoffs

God of War developer Sony Santa Monica has been hit by a wave of layoffs.

"[Sony Computer Entertainment America] can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio," a SCEA representative told Polygon. "This is a result of a cycle of resource realignment against priority growth areas within SCE [Worldwide Studios].

"We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted."

SCE Santa Monica is one of the several development studio's under Sony's roof. Founded in 1999, it's known for the PlayStation-exclusive God of War action franchise.

Of late, it's also been partnering with other studios on titles such as Honeyslug's indie entry Hohokum, Ready at Dawn's steampunk action-adventure The Order: 1886, and The Chinese Room's first-person adventure Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. All are upcoming PlayStation exclusives.