Community Responds to Bungie’s Major Layoffs Following Destiny 2’s Conclusion

Bungie is letting go of “most” of the Destiny 2 team following the game’s final update earlier this month. The studio, now under PlayStation’s umbrella, stated that the game “fell short of expectations these past several years,” prompting a workforce restructuring as they begin to explore new projects in their early stages. This round of layoffs also affects some team members working on Marathon, which is still in development.

This move is part of a troubling trend of mass layoffs within PlayStation, which has also seen the closure of several studios, including those behind Concord, Demon’s Souls, and the Shadow of the Colossus remake. Overall, the situation at PlayStation Studios appears grim, with Bungie’s acquisition by Sony for $3.6 billion reportedly leading to a $560 million loss for the company. Bungie had already experienced significant layoffs under Sony, and now the developer is facing further cuts.

This situation highlights the pitfalls of studios pursuing the live-service model in hopes of endless profits, ultimately resulting in talented individuals losing their jobs due to years of mismanagement by those still in power. Even gamers who don’t engage with Destiny 2 have reasons to feel disheartened by these developments.

Bungie has provided countless hours of incredible entertainment through their games, and it’s disheartening to witness the dismantling of such a talented studio.

To the developers who dedicated themselves to creating enchanting worlds and sharing unique stories, thank you. To the leadership that hindered development and misdirected business time and again, it’s clear where the blame lies.

A notable detail in this situation is that the URL for Sony’s announcement regarding the Bungie layoffs closely resembles the one used for the Firewalk closure, with the only difference being a “2” at the end. It feels like a sequel to a series of unfortunate events.

While the full impact of the layoffs at Bungie remains unclear, some developers have indicated they are safe from the cuts for now. The complete extent of this avoidable crisis will likely become clearer in the coming days.