New details about Bungie layoffs have emerged.
While Bungie CEO Pete Parsons confirmed layoffs in public, IGN has confirmed that Bungie chose to institute layoffs themselves. They have fired 100 out of 1,200 total employees, or around 8 % of the entire company.
A Bloomberg report explained that Pete told employees that the company was missing expectations for revenue on Destiny 2 and its latest DLC, Lightfall, by 45 %. Subsequently, feedback on upcoming DLC The Final Shape was good, not great. For this DLC to get players back in and hit revenue targets, it was getting delayed for improvement.
Pete prepared the company for some cost-cutting, only to suddenly start layoffs weeks later. Employees revealed that they were not told well in advance, with one anonymous account saying layoffs were announced on their day off, and their badge was deauthorized access to the offices on the day she checked out.
As Paul Tassi revealed on Twitter, Bungie had allegedly chosen their timing for the layoffs at the worst possible time for employees. Sony’s acquisition gave Bungie employees unvested shares. Employees would receive those vested shares based on the period of time that they stayed in the company.
But, if you left or were fired, those shares would revert back to Bungie. This does not seem to be coincidence either; if employees knew about the schedule well in advance, they could have taken appropriate action.
These former employees will receive three months of severance and three months of COBRA health insurance, but other benefits already ended last Monday. This also seems to confirm earlier reports that Bungie has delayed Destiny 2: The Final Shape to June 2024, and Marathon to 2025.
While these layoffs were not directed by Sony themselves, this follows a streak of news, where Sony owned studios like PlayStation Visual Arts, Media Molecule, and Naughty Dog had also gone through layoffs. And of course, we had reported that PlayStation president Jim Ryan is transitioning into retirement. In turn, that was followed by news that longtime producer Connie Booth was fired.
This is all clearly part of a trend within the company, and could be an indication that the PlayStation division is undergoing restructuring. While these things may slip the attention of gamers, Sony’s investors, and the financial world at large, is paying close attention. This Nikkei report on incoming PlayStation head Hiroki Totoki shares investors’ belief that Totoki intends to cut costs in the division when he comes in.
For now, GameRanx wishes the best for Bungie’s former employees, and we hope they can continue to find work in the industry, under their preferred terms.
