Destiny 2 developer Bungie facing more layoffs

After the announcement that Destiny 2 development will end, Bungie will look to downsize its workforce while also incubating new projects.

by · Shacknews

Bungie plans to lay off part of its workforce following the announcement that it will end Destiny 2 development next month.

Source: Bungie

On May 21, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Bungie plans to lay off a “significant number” of its employees after the decision was made to stop development on Destiny 2. The Destiny franchise had been in development since at least 2010, with the game launching in 2014 and the sequel arriving in 2017.

Over the course of development, Bungie’s employee count had grown to 850 in 2024. Unfortunately, the studio was also hit multiple layoffs throughout the life of Destiny 2. With production of Destiny 2 coming to an end in June, and with Marathon as the only game currently being supported, it appears that Sony is looking for ways to make up lost ground following the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie.

At the start of May, Sony delivered its FY25 earnings report which revealed the company took a $765 million impairment loss during the fiscal year on the acquisition. Additionally, Marathon hasn’t had the broad market appeal that Destiny was able to acquire, with Steam player count dipping to an average of 10,000 concurrent players per day.

With Bungie downsizing its studio, ending development on Destiny 2, and incubating new projects, it will be interesting to see what the future of the studio holds. Stay tuned to our Bungie page for more information.

Shacknews staff does not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their content. Shacknews strictly prohibits the use of its content for AI training or to generate text, including text in the style or format used for this publication. Shacknews reserves all rights to this work.