Sony Interactive Entertainment Restructuring Leads to Significant Staff Layoffs at Bungie Following Destiny 2 Performance Issues and Marathon Strategy Changes
Sony Interactive Entertainment has initiated a major corporate restructuring that reduces the workforce at its subsidiary studio Bungie. According to an internal memo from Hermen Hulst, the CEO of the Sony Studio Business Group, the decision will impact a significant number of employees. The cuts specifically target the team behind the Destiny franchise along with several developers working on the upcoming game Marathon. Additional support staff within the broader Sony Interactive Entertainment network will also see their roles eliminated as part of this consolidation effort.
In an official statement published by Bungie management, the developer owned studio announced that its core game Destiny 2 has not performed as expected commercially in several years in a row. After the release of the last live service content update to the game, the management announced that Bungie will not be able to maintain its former dimensions anymore. Bungie executives were extremely sad because of the downsizing.
The move occurs following Bungie's ten year run of live content in the Destiny franchise. Although the original team enjoyed significant industry success over the decade long period, the current state of the market and waning commitment compelled Sony to act. Hulst suggested that the review process included numerous conversations with the Bungie leadership about the studio's position in Sony's overall portfolio strategy before making the decision that there was no alternative.
Even with drastic reductions to the studio team Marathon is still slated to proceed. Hulst stated that "Marathon is still a highly valuable property"
within the company's gaming portfolio; the publisher will "look to keep financial and management support intact from the home office"
as the development team expands on the creative base established in seasons 1 and 2 of production. Other potential incubation strategies for future intellectual properties will continue to proceed in the background, although in an embryonic state.
The immediate concern for both Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment is now addressing the transition of the laid off employees. According to Hulst, as situations allow, Sony is currently seeking positions for affected employees within other first party software studios across the global PlayStation network. Severance and career transition packages are being provided to the impacted workers.
Today's round of video game layoffs underscores how unstable the large video game publisher pipeline is becoming, as they tighten their belts in the face of higher development costs and evolving player behavior. As the Age of Big Destiny 2 Live Updates ends, Bungie faces the unenviable task of running Marathon's business on a much smaller team.
