Destiny 2 developer Bungie has announced the layoff of 220 employees, which amounts to 17% of the developer's workforce. The news was shared by CEO Pete Parsons in a lengthy blog post, stating the "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions" as the main reasons for this decision.
On top of the layoffs, Parsons confirmed that Bungie will continue to merge even further with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE for short) as 155 employees, or 12% of Bungie's workforce, will move on to work directly for Sony.
Parsons explains that Bungie's current situation was a byproduct of their ambition, as the team encountered major economic challenges in 2023 due to a general post-pandemic economic slowdown. This was compounded by the poor reception of the 2023 expansion, Lightfall, and the decision to split their workforce as they began development on Marathon.
Back in February 2022 when news broke of Sony's acquisition of Bungie, the higher-ups assured employees that no layoffs or major company restructuring would be occurring, allowing the Destiny and Halo creators to operate autonomously within Sony, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Among those laid off is Robert Brookes, the senior narrative designer who worked on The Final Shape as his last project within the company. The expansion garnered massive praise from players, scoring 89 from critics and 7.8 from fans on Metacritic.
Former Bungie employees have directly criticized Pete Parsons, who has since turned his Twitter account private. Former Destiny 2 community manager Liana Ruppert called Parsons a liar and that these constant layoffs are a direct product of Bungie's leadership mismanagement rather than Sony's.
The future is looking grim for Destiny 2 and Bungie following the layoffs, as player sentiment had been increasingly negative with Episode: Echoes failing to shakeup the seasonal formula, now the developers will have to face an even more uphill battle with fewer hands on deck.