Bungie has reportedly laid off an unknown number of staffers and delayed two highly anticipated games. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that the studio’s CEO, Pete Parsons, warned staffers they would hear “some news today” while announcing a team meeting later on Monday to “discuss today’s events.”
Meanwhile, the studio has reportedly delayed the Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, and the studio’s next game, Marathon. Sony completed its deal last year to buy Bungie for $3.6 billion.
Well… my heart is breaking for all affected
I am now looking for opportunities. I have 21 years of games industry experience in media, production, and community management. I’m processing,I’m so heartbroken. I don’t know what to do from here… this was my home. I feel so lost
— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) October 30, 2023
According to Bloomberg, Bungie delayed Destiny 2: The Final Shape to June from its original target of February 27, 2024. While not necessarily the end of Destiny 2, the expansion will serve as a resolution, wrapping up its main story’s loose ends. In addition, the studio has pushed back the release date for extraction shooter Marathon to 2025. That title, rebooting an IP from a 1990s Mac cult classic, is Bungie’s attempt to re-establish itself as a force in the modern gaming industry beyond Destiny.
Sony has joined much of the gaming industry (and the tech world at large) in laying off staff this year. Naughty Dog, Media Molecule and PlayStation’s Visual Arts support team have all faced cuts recently. In addition, Epic Games cut around 900 staff members in September, and CD Projekt Red announced in July it would lay off about 100 people. Niantic, Telltale, EA and Unity have also let go of workers in 2023.
When reached by Engadget’s Kris Holt for comment, a Bungie spokesperson pointed us to the following post on X (formerly Twitter) from Parsons:
Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio. What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.
— pete parsons (@pparsons) October 30, 2023
Update, October 30, 2023, 4:43 PM ET: This story has been updated to add Bungie’s response.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bungie-reportedly-lays-off-staff-delays-marathon-and-destiny-2-the-final-shape-192722536.html?src=rss
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