After the news that Bungie laid off staffers hit earlier this week, new information has come out explaining exactly why this happened and the extent of the layoffs. This is amid reports that the sales targets at Bungie were 45% below expectations for the year.
Bungie laid off staffers on Monday, letting go of an undisclosed number of employees to start the week. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier now reports that the layoffs amounted to around 100 employees or about 8% of the total staff at the Destiny 2 studio.
NEW: Bungie laid off ~8% of staff Monday, or around 100 people, sources tell Bloomberg. Two weeks ago, staff were told they were projected to miss revenue targets by 45%. Employees were galvanized to get things on track... then came surprise layoffs https://t.co/gEdbzCzO4X pic.twitter.com/dVAko01HlB
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 31, 2023
While the layoffs are part of a larger move by parent company Sony, IGN reports that the decision to do the layoffs came from Bungie and not directed by the PlayStation maker. As part of an internal town hall meeting, IGN states that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons told the remaining staff that the layoffs were mostly due to the lagging performance of the flagship title, which seems to line up with the Bloomberg reporting here as well.
In the town hall, as reported by IGN, Parsons also went on to state that Bungie "kept 'the right people' to continue to work on Destiny 2," a statement that likely won't sit well with many left at the company as well as the nearly 100 people now looking for work. Those out of work now were given three months of severance pay, prorated bonuses, and three months of COBRA health insurance, though if an employee had unvested shares, those would revert to Bungie.
Schreier reports that Bungie predicts they will miss their revenue targets by as much as 45%. Parsons cites player retention as a big reason for this, especially after the reception from the last expansion, Lightfall failed to keep Guardians going. Bloomberg reports that many of the layoffs came from the community management and publishing department, with Bungie staff being told those gigs would be outsourced now.
The layoffs at Bungie are part of a broader industry concern, with multiple studios laying off employees over the year. It's been an incredible year for the games themselves but a bad and heartwrenching one for those who make them.
