The Last of Us and Uncharted developer Naughty Dog is laying off at least 25 of its staff members, according to a new report.
The report, which comes courtesy of Kotaku, cites "two sources familiar with the situation", who, in turn, say they received internal communications confirming the layoffs last week.
Several departments, including production and art, have been affected, but just like the apparent layoffs at Team17, the majority of the layoffs are QA workers.
Supposedly, the layoffs primarily affect contracted workers rather than full-time employees, with Kotaku's report stating that full-time staff "do not appear to have been part of the cuts".
According to Kotaku's report, those affected by layoffs aren't being offered severance pay, and they, along with employees remaining at Naughty Dog, are being "pressured to keep the news quiet".
This news comes just a couple of months after Evan Wells, who had worked with Naughty Dog for 25 years and served as its co-president, announced his retirement.
Around the same time, co-president Neil Druckmann announced a studio restructuring effort, with various staff members taking on new roles.
If the report is to be believed, the restructuring effort could be seen by some to be happening at a rather strange time for Naughty Dog.
Earlier this year, the studio celebrated its The Last of Us franchise selling 37 million copies cumulatively, and the TV adaptation of that same franchise has been rapturously received by critics and fans alike.
It's worth noting that Naughty Dog has yet to make an official statement regarding these layoffs, so for the moment, Kotaku's report is unconfirmed.
However, these layoffs would fit what seems to be an emerging pattern, with other studios and companies like Embracer Group, Xbox, and more being hit by layoffs in recent months.
We've reached out to Naughty Dog for comment on this story and will update as soon as we hear anything back.
