Bungie recently announced significant restructuring, including the departure of 220 employees, while another 155 will be transferred to PlayStation, and a third group will form a new, standalone studio. A new wave of sweeping redundancies has struck the studio, further compounding the devastating impact of an earlier round of layoffs last October, which resulted in approximately 100 job losses. Pete Parsons, Bungie’s CEO, has linked the company’s recent layoffs to its lofty goals, while Stephen Totilo’s newsletter, Sport File, has shed further light on this assertion through anonymous sources.
According to sources, a primary factor contributing to Bungie’s difficulties appears to be the company’s overly optimistic portrayal of its financial prospects by its leadership. A senior industry executive questioned whether Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie was a savvy investment, saying: “I think they overpaid for the studio.” “I think Bungie acknowledged challenges they were unable to overcome.”
According to reports, Bungie consistently fell short of internal financial targets established by Sony, a pattern observed in previous accounts, and suffered continuous losses since its inception in 2023. October’s previously disclosed job cuts were allegedly undertaken to demonstrate Sony executives that the studio was proactively addressing its financial situation; nonetheless, the report suggests that even Bungie management acknowledged these measures fell short of being sufficient?
According to sources, the recent round of layoffs at the studio was a long-planned move by management, initiated in early 2024. Despite being an enormous business success, the studio still had to undertake significant cost-cutting measures, including mass layoffs, ultimately necessitating a restructuring of its operations.
According to previous reviews, there was a concern that if the company underperformed, it might lead to further layoffs at Bungie. By the way, Totilo also observed that the game’s performance at launch was inferior to its final-year counterparts; for more information, click here.
It seems that the prevailing sentiment among both past and current employees suggests that Bungie’s leadership bears responsibility for the studio’s poor management, and that failing to acquire by Sony would have been a far more viable option for them instead.
“The concept of an alternative historical past is akin to financial insolvency,” a source noted.
According to Bungie, they expect no disruption to their previously announced content plans.
