After previous reports, Bungie has officially announced that it has let go of an unspecified number of team members. Additionally, there have been reports of a delay in the release of the highly anticipated expansion for Destiny 2, titled The Final Shape, as well as the new game Marathon.
As initially reported by Bloomberg, Bungie’s CEO Pete Parsons confirmed the layoffs through a tweet on his official Twitter account. He expressed his sadness, stating, “Today is a somber day at Bungie as we bid farewell to our colleagues who have made a significant impact on our studio. The contributions of these exceptional individuals to our games and Bungie’s culture have been immense and will continue to be a part of our legacy. They are truly talented individuals, and I highly recommend them if you have any job openings.”
Parsons did not address the reported delays in his statement. However, according to Bloomberg, The Final Shape expansion for Destiny 2, originally scheduled for release in February, has been pushed back to June. Similarly, Bungie’s upcoming game, Marathon, is also said to have been delayed until 2025.
Former employees of Bungie have confirmed the layoffs, with the impact being felt in departments such as editorial, recruiting, and quality assurance. Among those affected are Griffin Bennett, the former lead of social media, and Jason Guisao, a franchise editor.
In 2022, Sony acquired Bungie with the intention of gaining insights into the operations of community-driven and live-service games, given the tremendous success of Destiny 2. Unfortunately, layoffs have become increasingly common in the gaming industry, and Bungie is not the only PlayStation studio facing job cuts. Recently, Media Molecule, the developer of Little Big Planet, also had to let go of some of its team members.
Independent studios often seek the stability offered by larger first-party studios, making it disheartening to witness such layoffs. Just last month, Epic Games laid off approximately 900 employees, including those from Bandcamp and Mediatonic, the developers of Fall Guys, after acquiring them.