The recent events at Bungie, involving numerous layoffs and revenue losses, could have serious consequences for the company. Destiny-Developers have. Among other things, the studio's independence is at stake, while morale within the team is already said to be at rock bottom.
A few weeks ago, around 10 percent of Bungie's more than 1000 employees were laid off after it became clear that the number of active players was declining. Destiny 2 a new low has been reached and possibly not even reaching the sales targets.
According to a report by IGN Bungie is currently facing enormous cost pressures, which are reportedly accompanied by a hiring freeze and the suspension of annual salary and vacation pay adjustments. This is according to former Bungie employees, who also allege that studio management is surprisingly indifferent, reckless, and hostile in this regard.
“There’s still a strong ‘us versus them’ feeling between management and employees,” one person said. “That trust is currently undermined.”
Should the upcoming Destiny 2-Extension The Final Shape This will not bring about a turnaround for Bungie; further layoffs at the developer are expected, which could also give Sony complete control over the studio.
Bungie's independence is at stake.
Sony apparently contractually stipulated that if revenue targets were missed, the entire management structure at Bungie would be changed. This currently consists of PlayStation Studios boss Herman Hulst, SIE Vice President Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, CTO Luis Villegas, and CEO Pete Parsons, who makes the final decisions.
This structure is designed to ensure that the studio achieves certain financial targets. If these targets are missed, full control of Bungie would pass to Sony, and Bungie would likely become a wholly owned PlayStation studio.
Bungie is currently working on the Destiny-Extension The Final Shape, on their new IP Marathon, as well as another, as yet unknown project. These are considered a key element in Sony's future live service games strategy.
@piller Yes, I also think there were problems before. It's also surprising that you can survive long-term with just one Games as a Service (GAS) game. Even Mihoyo has three besides Genshin, Honkai, and Zzz is coming soon. It's no wonder Bungie was kicked out of ABK before; they presented it to the outside world as an independent entity. When Microsoft bought ABK, Jim got nervous and looked for an equivalent replacement, and Bungie exploited that to inflate their internal numbers. If I compare Genshin to Destiny, both games are free. Every story expansion in Genshin is free; the characters and weapons are optional via a gatcha system. In Destiny, every expansion costs full price. I don't know if that's sustainable in the long run. You only have to be disappointed once in a season, and you won't pre-order the next one. That's just how it is with Genshin; we'll see what comes next. It's free anyway.
@Crydog
We were right again that this was further proof that Ryan is simply incompetent and had absolutely no knack for this deal. Bungie isn't worth a billion, Destiny is just a footnote, and things had surely been in crisis at Bungie for a while, otherwise they wouldn't have sought refuge in a safe haven. And Ryan buys them for 3,6 billion... about four times what they're actually worth... LOL
@Max
Furthermore, I don't understand why you're actually happy that Piller and I were wrong? So, as a so-called PS fan, you'd rather Sony have financial problems just so you can say we were both wrong? Even though you thought the deal was good back then? Lol, you couldn't make this stuff up.
Just to clarify, Sony brought in Bungie back then because they were experts in the GAA (Gas as a Service) field, and Sony itself had no experience in it – that was the official explanation. And now, if Bungie goes under, suddenly Sony is supposed to know how something like that works? Yeah, right.
Less Sony PR, if Sony isn't careful, Bungie will drag Sony down with them. I maintain that the deal was a knee-jerk reaction without rhyme or reason; the Bungie CEO probably used the money to build himself a villa, and as I said, the poor employees who were/are being laid off.
@max Yes, you can see it was a mistake to buy them. A wannabe CEO decides on something with GAA, and then when it doesn't work out, who has to go first? Of course, the poor employees. It's like firing all the mechanics who actually repair cars in a car repair shop just to avoid losses.
And as far as I know, even the community no longer supports the content Bungie is delivering, so how can anyone think Bungie was a good deal? Besides, there's only one Deep, and his first name is Johnny.
Lol Max, Bungie is losing developers, money, relevance, and the Destiny DLC has been delayed. How can you and those who give you a thumbs up be as stupid as you and think this was a 4D ploy by Sony? Hahaha, so incredibly dumb. I can't even, are your parents siblings?
Where are our two idiots who always thought it was a bad investment, without even knowing the exact contracts? 😀 As always, they were wrong, because such an acquisition would ultimately be an absolute bargain. But of course, those two know-it-alls think they know everything better. 😉 But Bungie's management really overplayed their hand here. 😀 To include such a clause in the contract is bordering on madness.
Lol, under Hulst, Bungie is truly doomed.