Sony Announces Major Layoffs at Bungie, Impacting Most of the Destiny Team

Sony has announced a major round of layoffs at game developer Bungie, primarily impacting the team behind the Destiny franchise. The exact number of employees affected is unknown, but Sony described it as a “significant number.” The company stated it “explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio's resources with its current priorities and long-term goals.”

This decision comes directly after the final content update for Destiny 2, and was likely already in the works before that. Bloomberg reported in May that developers were not working on Destiny 3 and that Bungie layoffs were likely forthcoming.

The layoffs have also impacted some members of the Marathon team, though that game is still receiving content updates. Sony says the remaining team will continue working on Marathon alongside “incubation efforts for future projects.” Reductions have also occurred across Sony's gaming division, primarily affecting staff working alongside Destiny and Marathon developers.

These cuts go to the very top: Bungie studio head Justin Truman is stepping down, according to Bloomberg. Sony has previously expressed dissatisfaction with Destiny 2's financial performance, stating last year that the game's “sales and user engagement have not reached the expectations” it counted on when the electronics giant purchased Bungie.

Sony bought Bungie back in 2022 in a deal reportedly worth $3.6 billion. Since then, the company has lowered the value of the studio to around $2.8 billion, resulting in a loss of over $700 million.