Sony Online Entertainment has announced that the will be closing three studios and cancelling spy The Agency as a result.

Their studios in Tucson, Seattle and Denver are to be closed with a total of 205 staff losing their jobs.

Their long delayed multiplatform espionage MMO The Agency has also fallen victim of the cuts which are made in order for to concentrate on of their EverQuest and PlanetSide IPs.

In a statement released to Joystiq Sony said: "As part of a strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce, SOE announced today that it will eliminate 205 positions and close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios. As part of this restructuring, SOE is discontinuing production of The Agency so it can focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of games. All possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern."

They continued: "This strategic decision will have no impact on SOE's current portfolio of live games; additionally SOE will transition development efforts for the Denver and Tucson studios' suite of products to its San Diego headquarters. This strategic alignment of development resources better positions SOE to remain a global leader in online gaming and deliver on its promise of creating entertaining games for players of all ages, and servicing the 20 million players that visited SOE servers in just the past year."

By Ewan Aiton