There’s a serious trend of game development companies suffering layoffs in the last six months. Today, Destiny developer Bungie is the latest to suffer such layoffs according to numerous sources and former employees themselves. These layoffs reportedly also come as a result of the company’s decision to delay their upcoming Destiny 2 expansion and their extraction shooter Marathon.
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This news first came by way of Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier:
Destiny 2 developer Bungie is the latest PlayStation studio to have layoffs. Full scope isn't clear yet, but CEO Pete Parsons emailed the company this morning to say they'll be having a team meeting today to talk about "some news today coming out of Bungie" as staff are informed
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 30, 2023
Shortly after this tweet, numerous members of Bungie’s staff came forward stating that they had been laid off, including Global Social Media Lead Griffin Bennett and Destiny 2 Community Manager Liana “Hippy” Ruppert:
I've been laid off from @Bungie. A surreal thing to write as I sit here pondering what went wrong. I'm still processing it all and while my first instinct is anger I know I'd regret what I'd say.
Thank you to everyone at Bungie who helped make my last 5+ years the best ever.
— Griffin Bennett (@GriffinWB) October 30, 2023
Well… my heart is breaking for all affected
I am now looking for opportunities. I have 21 years of games industry experience in media, production, and community management. I'm processing,I'm so heartbroken. I don't know what to do from here… this was my home. I feel so lost
— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) October 30, 2023
The current number of employees that have been cut from the company is unclear. More and more individuals are reporting being let go each minute on Twitter and other platforms. Obviously, this always sucks, and there’s never a good way for someone to lose their job.
Sony officially acquired Bungie back in January of last year. Since then, they’ve continued support for Destiny 2 through its upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, and they’re also working on Marathon, an upcoming multiplayer extraction shooter. As reported by Bloomberg, The Final Shape is reportedly delayed to June of next year, and Marathon has been delayed to 2025 according to anonymous sources within the company. These delays are apparently the primary reason for these layoffs.
It’s been an especially rough season for game devs. The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog recently let go of numerous contracted QA testers, and Fortnite’s own Epic Games cut nearly 900 employees in a move that is still rippling throughout the company’s subsidiaries like Playtonic and Bandcamp. Bungie certainly isn’t the first video game company to face layoffs this year, but we have a feeling it’s far from the last.
We’ll be sure to update our readers on any headcounts or official statement from Bungie.
Update: Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie, has acknowledged the layoffs and has issued a statement:
Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio. What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.
— pete parsons (@pparsons) October 30, 2023
Source: Bloomberg