Destiny Developer Bungie Cuts 220 Staff: ‘Some of the Most Difficult Changes We’ve Ever Had to Make as a Studio’
Destiny developer Bungie has today announced significant cuts at the studio that have seen 220 people, or 17% of the studio’s workforce, let go.
The cuts affect every level of the company, including most of the Sony-owned studio’s executive and senior leader roles, Bungie boss Pete Parsons said in a post on Bungie.net. "Today is a difficult and painful day," Parsons added.
Departing staff will be offered "a generous exit package" that includes severance, bonus, and health coverage, Bungie promised.
Parsons blamed the cuts on the rising costs of development, "industry shifts," and "enduring economic conditions." Because of this, Parsons insistsed, Bungie has had to make "substantial changes" to its cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on live service looter shooter Destiny and the upcoming Marathon.
The cuts come after what was seen as the successful launch of Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape. Parsons acknowledged this in his post, but said they were necessary "to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials." Parsons also said the cuts were made "after exhausting all other mitigation options," although he failed to say what they were.
The 220 layoffs come alongside the integration of an additional 155 roles, or 12% of Bungie's workforce, into parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment over the next few quarters. Parsons said this move saves "a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force."
That suggests that if Sony hadn't taken on these 155 roles, 375 staff would have lost their jobs, and that the actual reduction in Bungie's workforce over time will be substantially more than 17%, at around 34%.
Meanwhile, Bungie is working with PlayStation Studios to spin out one of its incubation projects, an action game set in a brand-new sci-fi universe, to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios "to continue its promising development. "
"This will be a time of tremendous
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