Bungie confirms layoffs, now that Destiny 2 support has ended
by Stefan L · tsaBungie has confirmed on social media that the studio will be laying off employees, following on from the end of support for Destiny 2.
The extent of the layoffs is currently unclear, but they acknowledge that they dropped the ball in trying to find a future for Destiny, that this failure is the reason for the layoffs, and also share a genuine moment of remorse for those that will be affected.
Their statement reads
With great sadness, we are announcing a reduction in force as we reorganize Bungie.
As the leaders of Bungie, past and present, we recognize Destiny 2 fell short of expectations these past several years. Following our final content update to Destiny 2, and with our future projects still in early incubation, we unfortunately could not continue operating at our previous size.
We know this decision has a profound impact on the people affected, their families, friends, and teammates. While these changes are necessary to best position the studio now and for the future, that does not lessen the
difficulty of this moment or the impact it has on those affected.
Later, we will share more about that future with you all but today is not that day.
Today, we wish to extend our gratitude and compassion to every member of the Bungie team who has been impacted and to those who remain.
We hope you will do the same.
– Bungie
Since announcing the end of Destiny 2’s active development at the end of May, it has been widely expected that layoffs would follow. Reports quickly emerged about how staff had already been preemptively moved across to the Marathon team, how the prospective cost of developing a Destiny 3 had proven too rich for Sony’s accountants, and that various members on the Destiny 2 team were now trying to pitch new projects. Even the major swell of players following the final content update did nothing to move the needle, it was reported.
We don’t know if any of those pitches were successful – though Bungie has had a spotty track record with trying to incubate future projects of late – or if any jobs were saved through this. We just know that it’s a day to wish all those affected at Bungie well for the future.
Source: Bungie