What you need to know
- Sony's Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie is seeing another wave of job cuts, with 220 employees being let go.
- An additional 155 employees are being moved into different jobs across Sony Interactive Entertainment, with another handful forming a new team under PlayStation Studios.
- This comes months after Bungie let 100 employees ago shortly before the delay of multiple projects.
- Bungie launched its widely-anticipated expansion, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, to critical acclaim just weeks ago.
After a brief recess for summer announcements, the nonsense is continuing.
Sony-owned Destiny 2 developer Bungie announced on Wednesday that the company is making even more cuts, with 220 roles being eliminated, which makes up around 17% of the current staff. This comes not even a year after Bungie already laid off around 100 employees, which was 8% of the company's 1,200 employees at the time.
Further cuts at Bungie are planned beyond these layoffs, but these cut employees won't be losing their jobs. Instead, they'll be transitioned over to new roles at Sony, with 155 workers (an additional 12% of the existing workforce) taking new jobs across Sony Interactive Entertainment. Finally, another handful of Bungie employees are being spun out as a new team under PlayStation Studios, where they will be working on a science-fantasy action game.
"We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red," says Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. "After this new trajectory became clear, we knew we had to change our course and speed, and we did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome. Even with exhaustive efforts undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve our financial challenges, these steps were simply not enough. "
Bungie has not detailed if any members of leadership took pay cuts or were also affected by the layoffs.
Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion back in 2022, with the intent for Bungie to become a become a "global multi-media entertainment company" assisting PlayStation.
Bungie employees blame leadership
Current and former Bungie staff are outspoken regarding this decision, with former Destiny 2 community manager Liana Ruppert calling on Parsons to step down.
Step down, Pete. https://t.co/I5d7L8kcfqJuly 31, 2024
These words were echoed by another former staffer, Griffin Bennet.
C-Suite taking accountability for any of this or still just "withholding bonuses" and it'll be "settled in-house"?Poor leadership has crushed one of the greatest developers of all time.Retire, Pete.July 31, 2024
Destiny 2 global community lead Dylan Gafner, often known to players as "DMG," called the cuts "inexcusable."
Inexcusable. Industry leading talent being lost, yet again. Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again.Please maintain focus on those who’ve lost their position & income. Offer help where you can. https://t.co/SSDveUd5uWJuly 31, 2024
Analysis: Unbelievable
Bungie's prior round of cuts was certainly disappointing to see, but not out of line with the rest of the gaming industry. Microsoft's Xbox division, Sony's PlayStation, Riot Games, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and many, many others all grew near-exponentially during the years of the pandemic, and all of them have cut roles and studios in the reset that began in 2023.
Now, it appears Bungie is cutting even further right on the heels of great success, with Destiny 2: The Final Shape being acclaimed for its storytelling that wove together disparate narrative threads across the last 10 years into one of the best games available across Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC. It's clear that Bungie will be full steam ahead on Marathon, but the future of Destiny is certainly more unclear following this round of layoffs.
Otherwise, my remaining thoughts right now are with the employees and their families.
