PlayStation Visual Arts studio faces layoffs amidst The Last of Us spin-off delay

Other theories include the in-development MMORPG entry in the Horizon franchise by Guerilla Games or an unnamed new franchise that's part of Sony's massive push into the live-service genre through 2026.

Ultimately, the news has led to the discussion of how AAA game development has become unsustainable because of their lengthy development times.

Games as a Service is a way to extend how long a company can monetize a game with relatively minimal effort post-launch, but as we've learned in recent years, this is much easier said than done. The ongoing and very unfortunate trend of games launching in an abysmal state (we're looking at you Redfall and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum) is largely seen as a result of many developers trying to force games out way before they're ready in an effort to cut development costs since they can't be monetized as much anymore post-launch due to the increasingly negative perception of the public about live service titles.

Companies can't just delay games for further polishing either. Postponing games, like what Nintendo and Square Enix did recently, cost a lot of money. Even then, it doesn't solve the inherent risk of a studio's reputation tanking immediately as soon as it puts out a bad game or someone goes wrong in development.

As much as the gaming community loves to pin the blame on someone for whenever these situations happen, the fact of the matter is that it's the people who get laid off that suffer the most.

People losing jobs is never a good thing and we're hoping more companies start to see the error in their ways sooner than later.

We wish Borba good luck in finding a new family that can let him apply his talents to the fullest.

As for Sony, it's believed the world's leading gaming company held back in its May 24 PlayStation Showcase. It's unclear which games are still going to be announced later this year in a new State of Play or two. But, it's understood that Sony will stagger its reveals before the year ends, which will likely include an unnamed AAA PC port, the Project Q, the PlayStation 5 earbuds, and the release date of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.