Destiny 2 staff reportedly worried about Bungie's future

eurogamer.net:

Employees at Destiny 2 developer Bungie have said they feel anxious about their current status at the company, following layoffs earlier this year.

As you may recall, layoffs were first reported at the developer in October. At this time, studio CEO Pete Parsons publicly commented on the cuts, calling it «a sad day». Around 100 employees were said to be affected.

Now, in a new report by IGN, many remaining at the company have said the studio is implementing a variety of other cost-cutting measures across the board, in order to remain an independent subsidiary within Sony (which acquired the developer in 2022). There is concern among staff that Bungie may lose its independence within Sony should Destiny 2 fail to meet financial goals.

Along with the aforementioned layoffs, Bungie has also reportedly initiated a hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets for its employees, delayed various get togethers such as its «Pentathlon» until this time next year and kept its annual Bungie Day event as virtual only. Other events aimed at boosting morale have also reportedly seen their occurrence reduced. Cooking and knitting classes now reportedly happen every quarter, rather than each month.

In addition, the Marathon developer is said to be making adjustments across a variety of its current employee benefits, such as its new hire lunch program and more. This has left morale within Bungie low, sources told IGN, with one stating the mood right now is «soul-crushing». But despite this mood, those still at the company said management is not doing anything to try and address this overall feeling.

IGN stated those employees that expressed sadness following October's layoffs were «met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright