Sony Slaps Bungie with Impairment Charges to the Tune of $204 Million As Destiny-Focused Earnings Laggard
It became clear during the investors call for the second quarter of 2025 at Sony that the performance turned some corners for Destiny 2, below what was estimated. Accordingly, Lin Tao, CFO for Sony Group Corporation, noted that the sales and engagement level of the game have caused the company to record a loss for impairment of 31.5 billion Japanese yen, i.e. around $204 million.
Sony justifies its financial revision.
Lin Tao explained the reasoning behind it: a tough market and the game's performance since acquisition of its developer Bungie by Sony.
As for Destiny 2: The sales and user engagement for Destiny 2 have fallen short of our expectations at the time of the acquisition of Bungie, partly due to changes in the competitive landscape. While we will pursue improvements, for the time being we have lowered our business projection and have recorded an impairment against some of Bungie's assets.
Context for the $3.6 Billion Bungie Acquisition
In early 2022, Sony announced its acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion, a figure some analysts such as Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities thought far too high. The company's main reason was to fortify its portfolio with Bungie's live service expertise. However, with a declining player base for Destiny 2 on platforms such as Steam along with the delay of Bungie's next big title which is the extraction shooter Marathon, the investment has not yet begun to pay off.
Bungie's and Its Games' Future
Bungie is set to reinvigorate Destiny 2 with its next Sith-based expansion Renegades, set for release on December 2, which will also bring new lightsaber-like weapons.
However, the studio's real test is Marathon. The new first-person extraction shooter, being launched before March 2026, will be pivotal to the future of the developer under Sony's ownership.
