SOCOM Studio Hit With Layoffs; Sony Calls them Routine

Scuttlebutt has it that the Sony Computer Entertainment studio Zipper Interactive, maker of combat shooters MAG and the SOCOM series, lost several employees in a round of layoffs today. Reached for comment, a Sony spokesperson confirmed layoffs at Zipper, characterizing them as "normal business practice and a result of cutting back on production resources after the launch of two major franchises." Sony would not specify how many positions were lost. Update: Multiple tipsters have suggested that 33 people were let go.