Sony is "planning a significant number of layoffs" at Bungie, according to a new report from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg. This unfortunate yet not wholly expected news comes mere hours after Bungie announced that they are ending development on Destiny 2.
Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg's report says that there is no new project currently being worked on at Bungie. Bloomberg's sources state that Bungie "doesn't plan to immediately enter production on a Destiny 3." Those same sources also do not know exactly how many jobs have been cut or that will be cut shortly.
Employees at Bungie are said to be "looking to pitch and begin development of new projects, including in the Destiny franchise." Though none of those projects have been greenlit yet nor is there any guarantee that any pitches will be greenlit by Sony. As Bloomberg reminds us, Sony is currently attempting to navigate through "ongoing market conditions" by raising prices on hardware and services while also attempting to cut costs. The pitches would essentially need to print money for Sony to give a greenlight on anything right now.
Bungie is also said to be one of Sony's most expensive studios to operate due partly to the higher cost of living and pay in Bellevue, Washington where Bungie is located. The studio is also aiming to invest more into its new extraction shooter, Marathon, in order to pull in new players and increase spending. Sales expectations for Marathon have not yet been met despite releasing this past March.
Sony acquired Bungie in 2022 for a cool $3.6 billion. In the years that followed, Bungie laid off hundreds of employees as Destiny 2's popularity started to wane. Various projects at Bungie were said to have been canceled in that same span of time. One of those projects was codenamed "Payback," which was "a game set in the world of Destiny that was envisioned as the future of the franchise" and the basis for the 2024 rumor that said Bungie was already working on Destiny 3.
Layoffs at Bungie were probably expected by most fans, but I don't think many expected word of layoffs to happen mere hours after Bungie announced the end of Destiny 2's development.
