Destiny maker Bungie gets hit with mass layoffs

One of gaming’s best-known studios, Halo and Destiny creator Bungie, is laying off 220 workers to get the company on better financial footing, according to a Tuesday announcement by CEO Pete Parsons. To soften the blow, the affected people are being offered severance, bonuses, and health insurance. Some job losses were avoided by sending 155 people over to Sony Interactive Entertainment, Bungie’s parent company.

Bungie is also working to spin off “an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe” within a new brand under PlayStation Studios. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier claims that about 75 people are involved in the new project. Back at Bungie, the focus will be exclusively on Destiny and Marathon for the foreseeable future.

Parsons blames the situation on “overly ambitious” plans, which included a goal of having three ongoing franchises. The company set up multiple incubation units — wreaking havoc on its internal structure — while simultaneously dealing with a variety of problems, such as a slowdown in the gaming industry and the need to devote extra time to both Marathon and Desinty’s The Final Shape expansion. Financially the company began “running in the red,” Parsons says.

Just the latest blow to gaming labor

Unfortunately, the gaming industry has been hit with multiple waves of layoffs since 2023. Over 10,000 jobs were lost in 2023, and figures have only worsened in 2024, now exceeding 11,000 cuts. Just recently the entirety of Humble Games was let go, though that business will still continue in some form.

While companies like Bungie have specific factors at play, the industry as a whole has been rocked by mergers and acquisitions, as well as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, since people were able to return to activities outside the home. At major game studios, the cost of development has skyrocketed alongside aims of movie-like production values.