The acquisition of Bungie for $3,6 billion has definitively broken Sony's back in the live-service segment. Following the official halt to content for "Destiny 2," massive layoffs are now underway, affecting the majority of the remaining development team as well as parts of "Marathon."
The end of an era without successors
PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst and the remaining Bungie management have officially confirmed the staff reductions after days of uncertainty. numerous rumors The rumors were circulating. Sony hasn't released exact layoff figures, but the scale of the changes is structural. Almost the entire workforce behind "Destiny 2" is affected.
The studio is reacting to the reality of missed revenue expectations in recent years. The planned relaunch under the name Destiny Infinity is off the table. There is no successor. Destiny is dead. The question remains: how long will Sony keep the studio afloat?
The remaining resources are now being fully invested in the slow-starting extraction shooter "Marathon". The team behind the title has also been reduced, but will be responsible for supporting Seasons 1 and 2, as well as developing new prototypes.
For Sony, this is a ruinous loss. The company's live service offensive, launched in 2022, has thus failed spectacularly. Money doesn't guarantee lasting success. PlayStation Co-CEO Hermen Hulst is searching for words of encouragement amidst all this chaos:
“Marathon remains an important part of our portfolio, and we will continue to support the team in building on the solid foundation of the first two seasons and working on developing future projects,” says Hulst. “It’s still too early to talk about it, but the creativity and opportunities that lie ahead make us optimistic.”
For players, this news means the irrevocable end of the Destiny universe. Anyone hoping for a sudden turnaround or a "Destiny 3" must accept the facts. Bungie will be reduced to the size of a support studio to mitigate the damage to Sony's bottom line.
The benefit for customers is ultimately zero. All that remains is hope for "Marathon"—if the studio even survives the next round of budget cuts. After the recent Xbox meltdown PlayStation fans will likely find their laughter now stuck in their throats.
When you ignore the fans for years and then constantly do other things after nobody asked, this is what happens. And let's ignore the fact that Sony was really stupid and simply believed they were buying a gold mine, even though it had been empty for a long time.
It's about time 😬👍🏻
It was obvious that it would turn out this way.
Is Sony 😂
They make a hasty purchase, pay three times the studio's value, ruin the previous PS5 generation with their stupid GAAS push by slapping their premium single-player studios on live-service garbage, cancel all but one game, incur losses, and then fire the developers who are least responsible?! Hulst still being employed by Sony is the biggest joke, and the fact that they haven't moved their headquarters back to Japan is the second biggest!!
Christian Wagnsonner: Why is Microsoft Bungie owned by Sony? They haven't steered it in the right direction since acquiring the studio. Typical Sony arrogance, I guess 🤣. They've messed up everything related to live services. I don't think that will ever change. They're only good at story-driven games, though many are overrated, but still good 👍
I already know that, don't worry. I was referring to the shitstorm Microsoft got because of Ninja Theory – a relatively small studio compared to Bungie, with practically no major hits. And now look at the comments about Bungie – a legendary studio compared to Ninja Theory, with several major hits, even some games that are part of gaming history (Halo). Microsoft is sooooo evil. Sony is doing the only right thing. It's hilarious. 😂
Completely closing it down is a waste of money to keep the store alive.
It's such a shame about Bungie.
As soon as the big companies buy you out, almost all the ones you bought go under, and you have to ask yourself some questions…
The difference, however, is that if Sony hadn't bought Bungie, they wouldn't have any money left. Furthermore, Bungie themselves had run out of ideas about the direction Destiny should take.
YukiBeater, Luna, Lucy – it doesn't matter at all whether it's Bungie, Blizzard, Rare, or anyone else; they all eventually went under.
Blizzard is no good anymore either; they'll say goodbye eventually.
I was a Blizzard fan from SNES to back when it was still Silicon and Synapse, but what they're releasing today is just garbage. It was already bad years ago since Bobby Kottwick, but now with Microsoft it's no better…
No, in Bungie's company history they have already been on the verge of collapse 3 times (1 time unconfirmed).
When Microsoft bought them, they were bankrupt. When Activision bought them, they were bankrupt and desperately needed a publisher for Destiny, and when Sony took them over, rumors suggested they were also on the verge of bankruptcy.
The failure here clearly lies with Bungie.
The best thing Sony could have done.
The company is completely finished; thanks to people like Parsons, nothing remains of Bungie as we know it.