Back in October Destiny developer Bungie shocked many industry watchers when they enacted a deep round of layoffs, although the move became more understandable when it was revealed Destiny 2 missed its 2022 revenue targets by a whopping 45 percent. Clearly, things are not going that well over at Bungie, but a new report from IGN’s Rebekah Valentine paints an even more dire picture.
According to Valentine’s sources, a lot of what’s going on at Bungie hinges on a potential full takeover of the company by Sony. While Bungie has had a variety of different corporate overlords, they’ve always maintained their independence, but that may be about to end. Currently, the Bungie board of directors is split between Bungie and Sony representatives, with Team Bungie holding a very slim balance of power. Apparently, this board makeup is dependent on Bungie maintaining certain financial targets – if the studio misses them, Sony has the power to dissolve the board and take full control.
As such, it’s reported that the recent layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at Bungie come from the studio’s own management, as they try to keep the books in balance in order to avoid a takeover. Other cost-cutting measures include “a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company ‘Pentathalon’ event to next December, and […] bonuses will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.” Oh, and monthly knitting classes will now only be quarterly (yes, that’s a real cut that’s been made).
Needless to say, this has not done much for company morale, with the current mood said to be “soul-crushing.” Reportedly, leadership is not doing much to allay concerns, and have outright rejected the idea of taking pay cuts to avoid as many layoffs.
At this point, a lot is riding on Destiny 2: The Final Shape, the saga-ending expansion which has been delayed by several months. Hopefully, Bungie can stick the landing, but there’s reason to be skeptical given the current mood at the company.
Destiny 2 can be played on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5. The Final Shape is slated to launch in June of 2024.
