Sony has confirmed a significant round of layoffs at Bungie, with PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst revealing that most of the Destiny development team and some members of the Marathon team will be affected as the studio undergoes a major restructuring.
In a public statement, Hulst described the decision as “difficult” and “painful,” but said it was necessary to align Bungie’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. According to Hulst, Sony explored multiple alternatives before moving forward with the layoffs.
The cuts come shortly after Bungie released the final content update for Destiny 2, effectively bringing an end to over a decade of ongoing support for the franchise. While Hulst praised Destiny’s legacy, he offered no indication that new projects based on the series are currently in development.
Despite recent reports of disappointing player numbers, Marathon remains a key part of PlayStation’s live-service plans. Hulst confirmed Sony will continue supporting the extraction shooter through future seasonal content while its remaining development team also works on new incubation projects.
-
1-UP GAMES
RECENT NEWS
Blizzard Announces STARCRAFT, a Story-Driven Open-World Shooter
Bungie later released its own statement confirming the layoffs, acknowledging that Destiny 2 had fallen short of expectations in recent years and that the studio could no longer operate at its previous size following the end of the game’s content roadmap.
“As the leaders of Bungie, past and present, we recognize Destiny 2 fell short of expectations these past several years,” the studio said. “Following our final content update to Destiny 2, and with our future projects still in early incubation, we unfortunately could not continue operating at our previous size.”
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier also reported that Bungie studio head Justin Truman is stepping down as part of the restructuring.
Sony acquired Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion, betting heavily on live-service games. However, following multiple project cancellations and shifting priorities across PlayStation Studios, today’s layoffs mark another significant chapter in Sony’s changing live-service strategy.
