Bungie is undergoing “substantial changes” to balance its cost structure and development efforts.
Destiny developer Bungie has announced “significant changes” to overhaul its cost structure and development efforts, with this process set to eliminate 220 jobs, accounting for 17% of the studio’s total workforce. This round of layoffs will be the second to hit Bungie in the last year, as it continues its dramatic downsizing.
Per a blog update shared by Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, the studio has faced a range of difficult challenges recently, due to the rising costs of game development, industry shifts, as well as “the enduring economic conditions.”
“It has become clear that we need to make substantial changes to our cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon,” Parsons said.
Notably, Parsons’ announcement makes clear that Bungie’s incoming changes will impact staff of all levels – including “most of [its] executive and senior leader roles.”
“Today is a difficult and painful day, especially for our departing colleagues, all of which have made important and valuable contributions to Bungie. Our goal is to support them with the utmost care and respect,” Parsons said.
Those departing will be offered a “generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage,” but it’s worth noting those now out of work enter a volatile economy where games jobs are scarcer than ever. Over the last few years, a cavalcade of major studios have shed staff in the attempt to weather harsh economic circumstances, making open jobs incredibly competitive.
Going forward, it appears Bungie leadership plans to run a much tighter ship, with fewer opportunities for experimentation. As outlined, it will focus solely on Destiny and Marathon going forward, with all staff directed towards supporting and marketing these games.
As part of this change, Bungie will also now become more integrated with Sony Interactive Entertainment, with 12% of staff integrated into SIE over the coming year – a potential move first reported at the end of 2023. Per IGN, the future of the studio was dependent on the success of Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape – and while this was considered a success, it has not been enough to reverse the economic fortunes of the studio.
Bungie is also “spinning out” one of its incubation projects, described as “an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe.” This project will continue to be developed at a new studio, still under the PlayStation Studios banner.
According to Parsons, these moves are necessary due to a rapid company expansion that “ran headlong” into economic slowdown, a quality miss with Destiny 2‘s Lightfall expansion, a need for more time in delivering The Final Shape and Marathon, and an “overly ambitious” push that led them towards “running in the red.”
“This will be a challenging time at Bungie, and we’ll need to help our team navigate these changes in the weeks and months ahead. This will be a hard week, and we know that our team will need time to process, to ask questions, and to absorb this news,” Parsons said.
“Bungie will continue to make great games. We still have over 850 team members building Destiny and Marathon, and we will continue to build amazing experiences that exceed our players’ expectations. There will be a time to talk about our goals and projects, but today is not that day. Today, our focus is on supporting our people.”
Our thoughts are with those impacted by these devastating layoffs.
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By Leah J. Williams 1 August 2024
