On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Bungie announced that it was carving a new path that would lead to the layoff of 220 employees, or around 17% of the studio’s workforce. The decision was blamed on the “rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions”.
According to the studio, the decision affected every level of the company including executive and senior leader roles. Bungie plans to focus entirely on Destiny and Marathon, a decision that made Paul Tassi of Forbes say “Bungie is essentially tied to GAAS games forever”.
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“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” wrote the company’s CEO Pete Parsons in the announcement. ”But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”
“We are committing to two other major changes today that we believe will support our focus, leverage Sony’s strengths, and create new opportunities for Bungie talent.
“First, we are deepening our integration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 of our roles, roughly 12%, into SIE over the next few quarters. SIE has worked tirelessly with us to identify roles for as many of our people as possible, enabling us together to save a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force.
“Second, we are working with PlayStation Studios leadership to spin out one of our incubation projects – an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe – to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios to continue its promising development. This will be a time of tremendous change for our studio.”
Parsons said that there are still over 850 employees working on Destiny and Marathon and that a time will come when he will talk about the projects and the company’s goals. He promised a generous exit package for everyone impacted by the layoff.
Former employees call Parsons a joke, a lier
Tempers have continued to flare since the layoff announcement including stories of how Parsons lavished money on luxury cars while some devs barely had enough for groceries. Some of the messages shared on X included Parsons being labeled with unprintable names.
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“You are a liar, a thief and so many things we can’t discuss publicly,” wrote community manager Liana Ruppert on X. “Step down, and without the giant Sony payout. This isn’t on Sony, this is squarely on the failure of leadership. Plain and simple.”
I remember the Friday before the first layoffs, me and another CM were in the lobby and I was literally talking about how I didn't have enough money for groceries and that employee services was an angel for helping me have food since I was told to drop all of my side jobs when…
— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) July 31, 2024
Another former community manager and community coordinator Sam Bartley fumed on X, calling Parsons a coward. “You did this. You chose this. I’m already listed as ‘do not work with’ and I don’t care anymore. You lied to my face. Straight to it. You also invited me to come see your new cars two days before you laid me off.”
Pete is a joke. https://t.co/TtFtEzS0gF
— Griffin Bennett (@GriffinWB) July 31, 2024
On LinkedIn, the tone was more subtle. Impacted employees focused more on selling their experience to prospective employers and seeking the help of their connections to land new roles.
“Hi friends, I was impacted by the Bungie layoffs,” wrote VFX artist Julia Wang. “I am deeply grateful for the wonderful time I spent there and the amazing, warm people I had the pleasure of working with. I truly appreciate every moment spent with this incredible team and the friendships we formed.”
Former technical UI designer Jason Pfitzer wrote, “Officially on the hunt after being laid off after almost 5 years at Bungie. Let’s build something new together!”
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“More Bungie layoffs, this time was my turn,” wrote senior audio engineer Glenn Lorbecki. “It was a good run. I’m looking for a new role and would really appreciate your support. I’m eager to bring my expertise, skills, and experience to a new challenge.”
Founded in 1991, Bungie said it is “dedicated to creating hopeful worlds that inspire passionate player communities and lifelong friendships”. The studio is behind popular franchises like Marathon, Myth, Halo, and Destiny. Bungie was acquired by PlayStation in 2022.
Sources said Bungie’s layoff would have happened regardless of The Final Shape performance
While Parson’s letter made it seem as if the layoff was an unavoidable sudden turn of events, some insider sources claim the layoff was planned long ago. At least three sources were cited in Stephen Totilo’s Game File newsletter who claimed the layoff was concluded by early 2024, long before the release of The Final Shape in June.
Totilo’s sources said Bungie missed Sony’s financial targets several times and was bleeding cash since the release of Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion in early 2023. The sources claimed last year Bungie’s management agreed to make deep cuts to prove to Sony they were serious about financial management.
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The outcome at that time was the layoff of around 100 staff in October 2023. According to the sources, after the October layoff, the management felt it was not enough to remedy the company’s financial situation and another was planned in early 2024.
“I think Sony overpaid for Bungie,” one source told Totilo. “I think Bungie sold things they were just not able to deliver.”
Maybe Bungie’s management wanted to avoid the sort of backlash it faced after last year’s layoffs by timing the current layoff closely after the release of The Final Shape to make it seem as if it was the poor sales of the game that led to the layoff.
Perhaps, that might have worked if all its former employees kept quiet. As always, the blame would have gone to Sony. Well, thanks to several accounts of ex-employees, we know where the real blame lies.
