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31.10.2023 - 07:49 / gadgets.ndtv.com / Lay Off / Sony
Destiny 2 maker Bungie is among the latest video game studios to be hit with layoffs. First reported by Bloomberg, the downsizing is part of a wide restructuring across Sony Interactive Entertainment, with no official numbers available yet. Based on social media posts from affected workers, the communications, social media, and publishing departments at the studio were hit the hardest. Sony acquired Bungie in January 2022 in a $3.6 billion (about Rs. 29,973 crore) deal, enabling them to function independently and push forward the former's plans for more live-service games. The studio is also delaying its upcoming titles — a Destiny 2 expansion called The Final Shape and a reboot of Marathon, Bungie's first-person shooter title from 1994.
“Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted after reports came out. “What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.” Understandably, the post was met with collective disdain from others online, with many asking where exactly Sony's money flows. It's an interesting development, considering PlayStation had promised Bungie in 2022 that there would be ‘absolutely no layoffs' as the company continued to restructure. As part of that, the former spent $1.2 billion (about Rs. 9,991 crore) to retain all the key staff members — paid out over multiple years.
Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio. What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.
As mentioned before, the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape has been delayed from February to June, which is poised to conclude its storyline by setting up a conflict against The Witness, the representation of darkness. Some of this lore was drip-fed to players as part of subsequent seasons, making the Lightfall expansion one of the worst received DLCs in the franchise. Back in May, during the PlayStation Showcase event, Bungie also revealed a reboot of Marathon, a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, where the story evolves through completing objectives and participating in in-game events. No raw gameplay footage was released, but the developer revealed that it's set on a low-orbit colony, whose 30,000 inhabitants just mysteriously disappeared. As a cybernetic Runner, it is our job to uncover mysterious artefacts and hunt down assailants to reveal the larger story. In light of the layoffs, Marathon has been delayed to 2025.
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After layoffs, rumors of Destiny 2’s yearly revenue targets falling by 45 percent and pre-orders for The Final Shape tracking below expectations, Bungie has issued a statement. Called “Our Path Forward,” it said, “This has been one of the most difficult weeks in our studio’s history, as we’ve parted ways with people we respect and admire.
More than six years on from launch, Destiny 2 seems to have hit an all-time low. Recent reports have suggested that the game has seen a sharp decline in engagement and popularity since the launch of its Lightfall expansion, with the game’s underperformance having contributed to layoffs at Bungie that have reportedly seen about 100 employees losing their jobs.
Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape and the Marathon reboot have both reportedly been delayed amid lay-offs at developer Bungie.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier is reporting that the conclusion of Destiny 2’s Light and Darkness saga, The Final Shape, has been delayed and will now launch in June 2024. The expansion was set to launch on February 27th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC so if the rumours are true, Bungie are going to have to find up to three months of additional content to keep the players happy.