Bungie lays off hundreds, shuffles others to PlayStation

Sony-owned Destiny 2 maker Bungie is laying off 220 employees, or roughly 17 percent of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring.

In a blog post on the official Bungie website, CEO Pete Parsons attributed the cuts to the “rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions.” On top of that, Bungie is relocating 155 employees to a new studio within PlayStation to continue working on one of its incubation projects, which Parsons describes as an “action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe.”

All of this comes after Bungie laid off 100 people last October, meaning that the studio, which had 1,200 employees in 2023, has lost about 40 percent of its total workforce in a year. Parsons said everyone affected by the reductions will be receiving a “generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage.”

Elsewhere in the blog post, Parsons elaborated on the turmoil at Bungie, noting that the company had spread its talent “too thin, too quickly” by attempting to work on Destiny 2, the upcoming Marathon and its “several” incubation projects.

“Additionally, in 2023, our rapid expansion ran headlong into a broad economic slowdown, a sharp downturn in the games industry, our quality miss with Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the need to give both [Destiny 2:] The Final Shape and Marathon the time needed to ensure both projects deliver at the quality our players expect and deserve,” he added. “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red.”

Following the publication of the blog post, Parsons came under heavy fire on social media from developers and fans, leading him to briefly go private on X (Twitter). First, people noted that the layoffs comes less than two months after the launch of the acclaimed The Final Shape expansion, which was widely regarded to be a return to form after Lightfall. Clearly, the developers did their job well, leading many to blast Parsons for a failure in leadership.

Some have also pointed out that Parsons, who has now been at the helm of Bungie amid multiple rounds of layoffs, has spent millions on vehicles alone since 2022.

Pete Parsons has spent 2.4 MILLION DOLLARS on cars, trucks, and bikes on one single auction site since late 2022.

Since the Bungie layoffs in October 2023, he’s spent around $500,000 on vehicles.

SHAME SHAME SHAME pic.twitter.com/d6C7cu8R3D

— cb̾ro (@D2cbro) July 31, 2024

This motherfucker Pete Parsons has apparently bought 17 CARS since the start of 2023!?!? https://t.co/0odE0UmCis pic.twitter.com/S3NoSn6yyg

— DestinyNostalgia (@DestinyNostalgi) July 31, 2024

Liana Ruppert, former Destiny 2 community manager who was let go as part of the 2023 layoffs, was one of many people calling for Parsons to step down.

Pete Parsons needs to step down.

— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) July 31, 2024

Another former employee, Sam Bartley, said Parsons actually invited her to see his new cars two days before she was laid off.

Coward.

You did this. You chose this.

I’m already listed as “do not work with” and I don’t care anymore. You lied to my face. Straight to it. You also invited me to come see your new cars TWO DAYS before you laid me off. Two. Fucking. Days.

Leave. Now. pic.twitter.com/nWVGgWXH8J

— Sam 🖤 (@TheSamBartley) July 31, 2024

Others have also pointed out how Parsons closed a $3.6 billion USD (about $4.9 billion CAD) sale of Bungie to the Japanese tech giant in 2022, with $1.2 billion USD (about $1.6 billion) supposedly being set aside for employee retention.

However, Forbes’ Paul Tassi noted last year that these funds were spent long before the layoffs, “often on buying out employees’ Bungie shares which then went to Sony.” (Tassi also reported that Bungie’s deal with Sony granted it a level of autonomy, meaning that Parsons ultimately signed off on the layoffs.)

Of course, this begs the question of why so-called “employee retention” funds weren’t being spent on retaining employees. Bungie leadership also promised employees in 2022 that Sony’s acquisition wouldn’t lead to layoffs or restructuring — both of which have, of course, since happened.

Unfortunately, Bungie is far from the only gaming company that has been laying off staff. Since last year, a staggering 20,000-plus developers have lost their jobs at the likes of PlayStation, Xbox, EA, Ubisoft and Epic Games.

Image credit: Bungie

Source: Bungie