Sony â??budget cutsâ?? bring layoffs to Pain studio – Report

Reports suggest that Sony has made numerous staff cuts at the dev studio behind popular PSN title Pain – a game which saw more downloads than any other on the PlayStation Store by Nov 2007.

Colorado-based developer Idol Minds has lost half its staff due to "Sony budget cuts", according to a source speaking to Gamasutra on the condition of anonymity.

The existing size of Idol Minds’ workforce is unclear at this stage, though the developer’s website listed 50 people. It is unknown if the alleged “Sony budget cuts” will extend to other development studios.

A Sony US representative was unavailable at the time of going to press.

Idol Minds was founded in 1998 and had worked on a number of PlayStation titles such as Coolboarders 3. The group has seen its games sell over 5 million units.