Despite launching one of the most praised expansions of the year, Destiny 2’s The Final Shape, Bungie is facing significant challenges. Last October, the studio laid off around 100 employees, which represented about 8% of its workforce. Recently, Bungie announced another round of layoffs affecting 220 employees—an alarming 17% of its total workforce—while transferring 12% of the remaining staff to its parent company.
Executive Pete Parsons attributed these layoffs to “rising costs of development,” “industry shifts,” and “enduring economic conditions,” affecting a majority of Bungie’s executive and senior leader positions. The loss of leadership signals a period of “tremendous change” for the studio, with Parsons emphasizing that the transfer of employees to Sony is intended to strengthen Bungie’s integration within the larger company.
These layoffs reflect a broader trend in the gaming industry where major corporations acquire well-established developers, leading to substantial shifts in staffing and priorities. The future of Bungie, including the direction of Destiny 2 and its new project Marathon, is under scrutiny as the industry navigates these turbulent times.
This week’s discussions will explore the implications of these layoffs for Bungie’s future and the ongoing evolution of the gaming landscape.
