Destiny 2 developer Bungie lays off dozens of staff

polygon.com:

Destiny 2 developer Bungie is laying off an unspecified number of people, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons confirmed Monday after employees began speaking up about the job cuts on social media.

Reached for comment, a Bungie representative pointed Polygon to Parsons’ statement on X (formerly Twitter) and did not clarify the scope of the layoffs. Dozens of ex-Bungie employees have since posted on social media platforms like X and LinkedIn to share the news that they were impacted by the layoffs. The layoffs appear to be spread across Bungie’s community and social teams, marketing, legal, recruiting, art, human resources, quality assurance, and elsewhere.

“Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” Parsons wrote. “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.” (Parsons’ post has received hundreds of responses on X, several of which have been critical, using <a href=«https://twitter.com/search?q=to%3Apparsons%20%22tone%20deaf%22&src=» https:>phrases like “tone deaf”

to describe Parsons’ statement.)

Sony Interactive Entertainment purchased Bungie in 2022 in a $3.6 billion deal. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, who is stepping down from the company in March, said at the time that the studio “will remain independent and multi-platform [and] will enjoy creative freedom.” A Washington Post report published days after the acquisition said Bungie leadership told staff there would no “absolutely no layoffs” as a result of the acquisition. Sony also announced that it intended to spend $1.2 billion on employee retention — “deferred payments to employee