Rumor: Sony Sees Bungie As “Failed Investment”, Sony Takeover Incoming

A new rumor is going around about internal struggles ongoing between Bungie and Sony.

As shared on reddit by user UltraPlayGaming, a Destiny 2 content creator called Aztecross claims to have received an anonymous email talking about these issues. We will share a summary and our own commentary, but you will also be able to read the full message below.

But to quote the letter, Sony apparently already sees Bungie as a ‘failed investment.’ To put that in context, Sony acquired Bungie in early 2022, to the tune of $ 3.6 billion. Sony was very public about their intent to make money out of the Destiny IP, but they also reportedly wanted to make use of Bungie’s expertise to teach them to make live service games.

As things stand, Naughty Dog have revealed they cancelled their live service title, The Last Of Us Online. We also learned because of the Rhysida ransomware leak that Insomniac Games cancelled a potential live service game, a multiplayer online title called Spider-Man: The Great Web. Sony has cancelled more of their live service projects, and the only one that has released by 2024, Helldivers 2, was a smaller scale project that wasn’t designed to make the kind of money that Destiny does.

We have also learned about Bungie’s internal issues, which we don’t want to go into detail here anymore. But it’s relevant to point out here that Bungie management was rumored to havemade a series of self-sabotaging decisions, because they feared Sony taking over from them.

So, obviously, Sony does want to take over right now. The mood is apparently Sony management believes the rank and file staff are not to blame, but their leadership is. But Sony’s US and Japanese arms don’t agree on the course of action to take.

One internal leader in the US, possibly someone who isn’t a public facing figure for PlayStation, wants to take over from Bungie’s ‘gluttonous executives to right the ship. Sony in Japan wants to gut Bungie’s teams, even the ones working on future projects.

This letter ends with the assertion that PlayStation’s internal leader in the US is likely to get their way, because they are highly respected by Japanese management. Either way, it certainly sounds like Bungie’s hail mary’s for their executives to keep their job has failed, and it’s only a matter of when, specifically, when Sony decides how to play it.

You can read the full text of the letter below.

“    Hey there,

    I’m writing this on a throwaway. Please use this info to corroborate other sources you may have.

    Internal perspective at Sony is very negative towards Bungie right now. It is seen as a failed investment and strategies being discusses[sic] revolve around more of recouping losses. One internal leader from US is fighting to take over to right the ship, while many others across the Pacific want a much harsher method. The former US leader holds a lot of respect from overseas leadership, so it is likely (s)he will get their way. That person’s perspective is that there are a many ‘gluttonous’ executives at Bungie who are not doing their jobs and are hindering the organization. It is believed that the workers are skilled, but the leadership is unable to perform their duties.

    Bungie is in a hard spot, because pre-order numbers are lower than anticipated. I apologize, I do not have details on actual numbers. Sony believes that the finances will not allow Bungie to avoid a takeover even with another round of layoffs, as that would cannibalize development and future revenue.

    Overall, Sony has been very upset at Bungie leadership. They have not been able to successfully advise Sony teams, and while Lightfall hit internal revenue targets, every target since has been missed at an escalating decline. Bungie leadership regularly reschedule meetings with Sony leadership, know that the next timeslot can be months away.

I hope this sheds light for ongoings from Sony’s side. It is believed that the takeover would allow Sony to turn Destiny into a more profitable game. This sounds bad, but it is being treated as ‘lightning in a bottle’. Sony leadership wants to nurture the game, and understand that more aggressive monetization would not be healthy. There would be a monetization model switch, though, as it is believed the current model is too confusing. The main difference between the US leader vs Japan leaders getting their way matters more for Bungie’s in-development titles. If Japan leadership gets their way, teams for future titles will be gutted and reformed.”