Following Bungie’s announcement of a reduction in its workforce, the second after mass layoffs in June 2024, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst followed with an update on the same. As it turns out, the layoffs will affect “most of the Destiny team” and “some” team members on Marathon. Furthermore, teams at Sony Interactive Entertainment that helped support Bungie will also see a reduction.
According to Hulst, the decision was made “only after extensive discussion and careful consideration.” “Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals.”
Praising the franchise as a whole, he noted that Bungie would begin a “new journey” after the recent final content update for Destiny 2. Whether that means a new project or something else remains to be seen. According to reports before this announcement, Destiny 3 is not in development.
As for Marathon, Sony considers it an “important part of our portfolio,” and Hulst says it will “continue to support the team as they build on the strong foundation established in Season 1 and 2, and as they work on incubation efforts for future projects.” The latter is seemingly “too early to discuss”, but the company is “encouraged by the creativity and opportunities that lie ahead.” Potential spin-offs or something else entirely? It would certainly be an interesting option to explore, especially since the extraction shooter hasn’t exactly been setting the charts on fire or hitting record player counts, at least on Steam.
Regarding those facing layoffs, Hulst said, “We are providing transition support and, where possible, working to identify opportunities across SIE and our global network of studios.” This is similar to what happened in June 2024 when 155 roles from Bungie were integrated into PlayStation, resulting in new studios like teamLFG.
We may only know the extent of layoffs in the coming months, so stay tuned, but based on previous reports, they’re looking to be “significant.”
