On Monday, we learned that Sony-owned Bungie was struggling with layoffs and delays both for Destiny 2’s The Final Shape and for its extraction shooter Marathon. Thanks to Bloomberg, we now have more details on what the heck is going on at the studio – or at least, what Bungie execs want people to believe is going on.
First, Bloomberg clarifies that 100 of Bungie’s 1200-person workforce were cut; we already know that the community and sound teams were hit particularly hard. (Who needs sound design, music, or experts to handle the massive Destiny 2 community, right? Oh. Oh no.)
Apparently, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons told workers a few weeks ago that the last big update, Lightfall, had underperformed in terms of cash and player retention, driving revenue “45% below projections for the year.” Consequently, the company vowed to freeze salaries, freeze hiring, and slash travel, while delaying The Final Shape nearly half a year for more development owing to good but “not great” internal feedback.
Those meetings and measures weren’t the last of it, though, as the layoffs Monday appear to have blindsided devs. As Kotaku notes, Parson’s comments about the layoffs were blasted on social media; he makes no mention of repercussions for himself or any other executive responsible for the 45% projections miss. (Make no mistake, the sound engineers and community managers didn’t make those calls.)
As we’ve previously noted, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is on track to resign in March, but it looks as if Sony’s restructure – which had already affected multiple studios and offices this year – isn’t over yet.
