Blog Post: If Destiny 2 Bombs, Bungie's Sony Autonomy at Risk - Report

• Sony's acquisition of Bungie and potential full control.
• Current leadership at Bungie and financial targets.
• Layoffs, revenue shortfalls, and cost-cutting at Bungie.
• Future of Destiny 2 and the upcoming expansion, The Final Shape.
• Bungie's historical independence and challenges ahead.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Bungie's Future

The seasoned heroes of Destiny 2 face new challenges as The Final Shape looms on the horizon. Image courtesy of Bungie.

In 2022, Sony took over Bungie, the creator of the Halo series and other popular titles, for a whopping $3.6 billion. Despite the acquisition, Bungie was to operate as an independent subsidiary.

Sony's Potential Full Control Over Bungie

However, recent reports suggest that if Bungie's sci-fi MMO continues to miss revenue targets, Sony might dissolve the existing board of directors and seize full control of the studio, which currently employs around 1,100 people.

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Bungie's Current Leadership

The current post-acquisition board of directors at Bungie includes the head of PlayStation studios Herman Hulst, senior Sony VP Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons.

However, this structure is contingent on the studio meeting certain financial targets. If Bungie continues to fall short, Sony could assume full control.

Layoffs and Revenue Shortfalls at Bungie

Following 100 layoffs at Bungie in October, it was reported that the studio fell short of its 2023 forecast by 45 percent. This comes after the launch of the disappointing Lightfall expansion.

With player counts for Destiny 2 at an all-time low, at least on PC, it was reported that the decision to lay off staff and implement cost-cutting measures was made by Parsons and not Sony. These measures were taken to compensate for the revenue shortfall.

Further Cost-cutting Measures at Bungie

Additional cost-cutting measures at Bungie reportedly includes a hiring freeze, a crackdown on annual cost-of-living adjustments to salaries, and no holiday bonuses. These actions have negatively impacted the studio's DE&I initiatives and meeting groups.

Reports suggest that senior management has shown indifference or even outright hostility towards the situation, leading to a significant drop in morale.

The Future of Destiny 2

One source suggested that more layoffs could be on the horizon if the next expansion, The Final Shape, doesn't perform better than this year's. The Final Shape, originally set to release in February 2024, was recently delayed until June.

Additionally, the recently announced extraction shooter Marathon has been delayed until 2025.

Bungie's Independent Struggle

Bungie has historically thrived as an independent studio. After developing several Halo games for Microsoft, Bungie went independent to develop the first Destiny, partnering with Activision Blizzard to publish it.

However, after reports of crunch and unsustainable financial expectations under that arrangement, Bungie bought itself out of the Activision agreement in 2019, while retaining the Destiny 2 franchise.

As we look towards the future, it remains to be seen how Bungie will navigate these challenging times and what it means for the future of Destiny 2.

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