The relationship between Destiny 2 developer Bungie and Sony PlayStation appears to be continuing to fray if statements from Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman Hiroki Totoki are anything to go by, in which he issues what can basically be taken as a threat aimed at studio leadership wrapped in a thin veil of corporate double-talk.
In a Q&A session with analysts that followed Sony’s latest earnings call, Totoki started talking about how SIE employees know their individual roles but don’t fully appreciate “how their respective efforts tie into overall growth” for the company, followed by what looks to be a wagged finger at workers:
“By providing everyone involved with highly transparent description of the company and industry conditions, as well as of analyst views, I would like to encourage them to come to their own realizations. This will get everyone in the business onto the same page. Then, I would like them to consider what we need to do to work toward our major objectives.”
This reference to everyone getting “onto the same page” led into a reference to Totoki’s recent personal visit to the Bungie studio, where he talked up the “highly motivated” and creative developers but also zeroed in on the business side of things, pointing out that there was “room for improvement […] with regard to areas such as the use of business expenses and assuming accountability for development timelines.”
“I hope to continue the dialogue and come up with some good solutions,” he closes.
Readers will recall that Bungie has been under a microscope for the past few months, as the studio saw a wave of layoffs, sales for D2 that missed leadership’s projections by nearly half, and of course a multi-month delay for the shooter’s Final Shape expansion. It’s now very likely that the employees at the studio will be under even greater pressure than they were before now that PlayStation’s big boss has aimed his gaze at Bungie leadership.
