Mass Layoffs And Project Delays At Bungie Due To Significant Revenue Shortfall

More information has come to light on the Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion and in-development extraction shooter Marathon. Bloomberg reports that 100 of the Sony-owned studio’s 1200 employees were laid off as a direct result of a massive drop in the studio’s annual revenue.

Bungie CEO Pete Paterson reportedly told employees that revenues were 45% below their projections for the year, pinning the blame on the poor performance of Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion and the first-person shooter’s waning popularity. Consequently, the studio has implemented a salary freeze, suspended hiring, and has cut spending on travel and other business expenses.

The studio’s management also made the decision to delay The Final Shape from February 2024 to June 2024 to give the developers more time to polish and improve the product.

Anonymous sources also revealed that the layoffs took them by surprise. Affected employees only learned that they were being let go when they attended mysterious 15-minute meetings that suddenly appeared on their calendars early Monday morning. Downsized staffers were granted at least three months of severance pay, three months health insurance coverage, and prorated bonuses.