Bungie is taking a “new path”, laying off about 17% of the studio’s workforce, a loss of 220 jobs. These new layoffs follow a previous round back in November that cut about 100 jobs. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons announced the layoffs as well as additional “substantial changes” to rein in costs and focus development on Destiny and Marathon.
In addition to the 220 people who are losing their jobs, another 155 workers will be moved to Sony Interactive Entertainment and about 75 employees will move to a new studio. Those employees will be part of an effort “to spin out one of our incubation projects – an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe” within a new studio under PlayStation Studios. The employees headed to SIE will be moved over the next several quarters, and Parsons says this will save jobs that would have otherwise been included in the total layoffs.
Blaming “a sharp downturn in the games industry, our quality miss with Destiny 2: Lightfall…[and time needed on The Final Shape and Marathon], Parsons comments on the belt tightening. “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red.”
Bungie owner Sony held a Q&A in February with PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki after a financial report, and he stated that while Bungie employees were motivated and creative, “there was room for improvement from a business perspective with regard to areas such as the use of business expenses and assuming accountability for development timelines”. Sony itself announced layoffs of about 8% of its workforce.
November's layoffs came with deflated morale for those who were left and it was likely that the delayed expansion, The Final Shape, would be a major factor in whether they were able to right the ship. Previous efforts and layoffs “were simply not enough,” Parsons says.
After these cuts and cost reductions, Bungie will be left with around 850 employees who will dedicate everything towards Destiny and Marathon.
