Destiny 2

Bungie

With Destiny 2 reaching its end of service, Bungie developers have been bracing for layoffs for some time, after several rounds before this. Now, those have begun, according to a new statement from Bungie leadership announcing that new, significant cuts are unfolding.

Exact numbers have not been given as of yet, but I have previously learned that the target is around 50% of the studio, with a potential range of 40-55%. That would be several hundred people, at least. As the statement says, its future projects are in “early incubation,” where I’ve previously reported that nothing else has been greenlit yet, meaning only Marathon is in active development. Here’s the statement from Bungie:

“With great sadness, we are announcing a reduction in force as we reorganize Bungie.

As the leaders of Bungie, past and present, we recognize Destiny 2 fell short of expectations these past several years. Following our final content update to Destiny 2, and with our future projects still in early incubation, we unfortunately could not continue operating at our previous size.”

“We know this decision has a profound impact on the people affected, their families, friends, and teammates. While these changes are necessary to best position the studio now and for the future, that does not lessen the difficulty of this moment or the impact it has on those affected.”

“Later, we will share more about that future with you all but today is not that day. Today, we wish to extend our gratitude and compassion to every member of the Bungie team who has been impacted and to those who remain. We hope you will do the same.”

Some members of Bungie have already been moved over to Marathon before this. As previously reported, many Destiny 2 devs have been sitting around with little to do after Monument of Triumph, not even allowed to work on more than a scarce handful of hotfixes. It is likely they are impacted. Information is now coming in via internal emails sent by PlayStation head Herman Hulst that most of the Destiny team is gone, some Marathon devs are cut, and some SIE staff working on Bungie support have been laid off as well.

Bungie has not been able to get a new game greenlit, and even if it does, that would start with a very small team and not need hundreds of people on it immediately. Now, there will be several hundred people left to work mainly on Marathon, the extraction shooter that has not met expectations since launch, and continues to bleed players. Bungie is now pulling out all stops to attract new players, including the launch of an upcoming dedicated PvE mode.

While it may not be the end of the road for Bungie and its relationship with its current owner, Sony, it is easily the darkest day of this era. Sony paid $3.6 billion for Bungie, and has taken impairment losses against it to the tune of $700 million. That still values it as a $2.9 billion asset, but it’s hard to see how that’s possible now. Marathon should never have been put in the position to keep Bungie afloat with Destiny 2 completely dead, but that’s where things have ended up.

The future of Bungie is entirely uncertain now, with an unclear runway timeline for Marathon and what Sony may plan to do with the studio, whether it’s a total shutdown, reassignment to other parts of the company, or perhaps the remote chance of further investment if new projects take shape. Today, however, will be a brutal moment for the studio.

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