Game developers across the industry and the Destiny 2 community alike have been left devastated after Bungie laid off dozens of staff members across several teams.
Destiny 2 is still hurdling towards its conclusion of the Light and Dark saga with The Final Shape. Between that time, however, the developers have been slowly churning out seasonal content to tide players over, with the most recent Season of the Witch offering new stories and weapons.
However, it appears that not all is going to plan at Bungie following its $3.6 billion deal with Sony last year. October 30 reports from Jason Schreier outline major layoffs to several teams at Bungie, prompting shock from game devs and the community alike.
Discourse about yet another round of high-profile layoffs at a longstanding studio took hold on Twitter especially, where developers and fans shared their thoughts on the matter.
Today is my worst day at Bungie by far. Absolutely gutted to lose so many talented and amazing teammates. Please show them some love and compassion as each of them contributed to making the game and community great.
— Cozmo (@Cozmo23) October 30, 2023
Destiny 2 community left in mourning after massive layoffs
Global Community Lead at Bungie, Cozmo23, shared their disbelief at the layoffs of their fellow colleagues, hoping that those around them will show love and compassion to those who contributed to the Destiny universe.
Similarly, now former Social Media Lead Griffin Bennett announced that they had been laid off from Bungie, expressing their mixed emotions.
“I’ve been laid off from Bungie. A surreal thing to write as I sit here pondering what went wrong. I’m still processing it all and while my first instinct is anger I know I’d regret what I’d say.
Thank you to everyone at Bungie who helped make my last 5+ years the best ever,” their post read.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Other developers and fans were struck with fear by the layoffs, particularly since Bungie was only recently brought under Sony’s umbrella for a whopping $3.6 billion.
Genuinely stunned at the Bungie layoffs. 1.2 billion dollars of the Sony deal was allocated for staff retention and they *still* start firing people just over a year after.What we're seeing is an industry being decimated by corporate malpractice and insatiable greed.
— Rik Godwin (@Tafdolphin) October 30, 2023
“Bungie laid off Michael Salvatori. If an award-winning portfolio of this absolute grandeur isn’t enough to keep your job, then I fear for everyone in the industry,” another user shared.
Some in the community were writhed with anger, with popular streamer Gothalion even arguing the Bungie they once knew was now gone.
“The Bungie we knew is basically gone. Hate seeing the layoffs today,” they shared.
Reporter Paul Tassi has since confirmed that, contrary to early rumors, the decision behind these layoffs rested with Bungie and that they were not pressured to lay off employees by Sony.
New info about the Bungie layoffs. Per a source: pic.twitter.com/sPs9dLTruI
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) October 31, 2023
Tassi also noted that the layoffs leave many employees without insurance for the month of November (which begins two days after the layoffs), and that some may not receive vested shares of stock.
It’s not quite certain what these layoffs may mean for Destiny 2 at this point in time, nor is the full extent of said layoffs clear as Bungie is yet to publicly address the situation. But it’s clear that the news has shocked and devastated the player base of the looter shooter.