Destiny 2 News

Not even Destiny 2: The Final Shape being a runaway blockbuster success would have prevented Bungie's latest layoffs, report claims

It reportedly didn't matter whether Destiny 2's The Final Shape expansion delivered a "blockbuster performance", Bungie's latest layoffs were in the works prior to its release and "couldn't be avoided" even if the much-hyped bit of DLC, which garnered a positive reception, had been a runaway commercial success.

This is according to a report from Stephen Totilo's Game File, which cites a number of sources having stated that this week's round of cuts were already planned as of early 2024. Said cuts saw 220 Bungie staff be laid off and more have their roles shifted over into both Sony Interactive Entertainment and a new PlayStation studio which is taking on development of a Bungie "incubation project".

The report goes on to quote one anonymous former Bungie worker as asserting that if the studio hadn't been acquired by Sony back in 2022, the "alternate history is insolvency." It's claimed that Bungie has repeatedly missed the financial targets set out by Sony, leading its management to have to conclude last year - seemingly with the studio's autonomy on the line - that it would "make deep cuts to show Sony's executives that it was taking its finances seriously".

Развитие франшизы Destiny не является приоритетным вопросом для Sony, купившей Bungie в начале 2022 года, сообщил известный инсайдер Джефф Грабб.

Former Bungie devs show fury and sorrow over layoffs, following the revelation that CEO Pete Parsons allegedly spent at least $2,414,550 on vintage cars in the past 2 years

220 Bungie developers lost their jobs in July, as a dire industry climate of similar layoffs continues well into 2024. As is usually the case, those impacted took to social media to make the human cost of the cuts, which Bungie describe as being due to "enduring economic conditions", known...
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Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has seemingly spent over $2 Million on classic cars and motorbikes since Sony bought the studio back in 2022

Since Bungie was acquired by Sony back in February 2022 for $3.6 billion, the Destiny 2 developer's CEO Pete Parsons has seemingly spent over $2 million on classic cars and motorcycles via auction site Bring A Trailer. A number of the account in question's purchases have come in the months surrounding mass layoffs at Bungie.

Parsons has faced calls to resign following yesterday's announcement that the studio is laying off 220 staff, with a further 155 set to integrated into Sony, and 40 being "spun off" into a new PlayStation studio which will take on development of one of Bungie's "incubation projects". In the announcement, Parsons wrote that Bungie had been "overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red".

Since news broke of these latest layoffs, which follow another round of job cuts at Bungie back in October 2023, an account on classic car auction site Bring A Trailer with the username 'bngpparsons' has come to light. Valorant player association program manager Taylor 'Tailored' Broomall has claimed in a tweet that this account, which has clocked up over $2 million worth of winning bids since September 2022, belongs to Parsons.

Destiny and Marathon developers Bungie are laying off 220 people - around 17% of their total workforce - as studio heads try to offset a financial crisis brought on by "overly ambitious" expansion, individual project "misfires", and a wider economic downturn in 2023. Bungie are also transferring a further 155 roles to parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, and are spinning out an untitled incubation project - an "action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe" - to form a new PlayStation studio.