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Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover - IGN

One month after a major round of layoffs impacted roughly 100 Bungie employees of 1,200, those remaining at the Destiny developer say the cuts, as well as other cost-cutting measures, came alongside an apparent scramble by studio leadership to avoid a total Sony takeover.

www.ign.com

As it currently stands, Bungie is (on paper) a fully independent subsidiary of Sony. But its board of directors has been divided since the takeover in July of 2022. Among its current members are PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, Sony senior VP Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. The board as a whole is split between Sony and Bungie representatives, with Parsons serving as a tiebreaker vote. But speaking to IGN under condition of anonymity, multiple current and former Bungie employees described a department meeting that took place shortly after the layoffs, in which leaders hinted that this shared power may not last forever.

“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of its revenue goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company

Along with the recent layoffs, this has resulted in a massive decay in morale within the company, according to IGN’s sources, one of whom told us that the mood within the studio has been “soul-crushing” over the last month. And it doesn’t sound like management is making any significant efforts toward improving the atmosphere, either

“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

"I’m angry. I’m upset. This isn’t what I came here to do,” one person said. “It feels like many higher ups aren’t listening to the data and are like, ‘We just need to win our fans back, they still like us.’ No. They don’t...We got rid of some of our most knowledgeable beloved folks who have been here for 20+ years. Everyday I walk in afraid that I or my friends are next. No one is safe."

Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Their upper management is clearly struggling in actually managing Bungie so maybe a full Sony take over is just what they need.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

"complete Sony takeover" = actually being successful and having job security

DE&I clubs hit hard

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I mean...Sony will never let Bungie flop like this. Not after spending all the money they did on them.
The tweet makes it seem that if Bungie hits a certain low, Sony may have the right to take over the company.

At this point...that's probably for the best.

6 months ago Bungie was approving PS Studio games...now they fear Sony taking over them, lmao.

 

[midnightAI]

So make the game good?

 

[R3TRODYCE]

They should have sold to Embracer; They know how to run a business the right way.

 

[Tsaki]

"...delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays."
“soul-crushing”
"Others laid off included a noticeable number of members of Bungie’s DE&I clubs, including co-heads of Pride@Bungie, Women@Bungie, and Accessibility@Bungie. When combined with other recent resource cuts, these dismissals have led to fears these clubs might be shut down."

Goddamn living life on Easy Mode when having less knitting classes can be soul crushing.
Seems Bungie leadership is cutting the excess fat (or let's be real, the obesity) that has accumulated over the past decade.

 

[Porticus]

Fuck this industry and the absymal level of journalism.

 

[violence]

Destiny is kind of played out at this point?

 

[zapper]

they want to avoid total control by Sony but they allowed themselves to be acquired..?

this acquisition seems to be the biggest scam in recent years

 

[Dr.D00p]

All these GAAS will inevitably die when your core launch audience just grow up and start dealing with life outside of gaming.

They have an inbuilt demographic termination switch.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

"DEI clubs were hit hard"

 

[ungalo]

Reminds me of when they were under Microsoft. Being a subsidiary and wanting to remain independant seems contradictory.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

"complete Sony takeover" = actually being successful and having job security

This. The whole article is bizzare. So the company needs a game to do well to bring in the revenue in order to maintain employment. How is that strange?

 

[Hudo]

Can Sony make Marathon a proper Marathon game? Otherwise, I don't care if Bungie sucks all by themselves or if they suck together with Sony on board.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Full absorption into Sony in 3.....2.......1............

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

All these GAAS will inevitably die when your core launch audience just grow up and start dealing with life outside of gaming.

They have an inbuilt demographic termination switch.

Tell that to all the GAAS games that are bigger than ever 6, 7, 8+ years after launch.

 

[Warnen]

I’d take a fully Sony fied Destiny game. All story good gameplay, drop the live service stuff.

 

[Bojanglez]

The article seems like it is desperate to link the fact that Sony people are on the board with the atmosphere

Along with the recent layoffs, this has resulted in a massive decay in morale within the company, according to IGN’s sources, one of whom told us that the mood within the studio has been “soul-crushing” over the last month. And it doesn’t sound like management is making any significant efforts toward improving the atmosphere, either

But I can't see any quotes from the employees that reference that specifically

"I’m angry. I’m upset. This isn’t what I came here to do,”

No, you came to make games presumably, so get on with it and stop whinging.

I understand layoffs are worrying, but as an employee all you can do is knuckle down and do the best you can to make the next release a success. I'm not sure whinging about meetings to the press is going to help morale or productivity.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This always happen with a big acquisitions. Especially when the company being acquired is a complete shitshow.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Sony know how to manage studios. Having more input from them wouldn't be a bad thing.

Lempel being on the board is interesting. He's a candidate for Ryan's job.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

"DEI clubs were hit hard"

 

[Complistic]

Is the tide turning on GaaS games? It seems a lot of them aren't doing great.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I actually wouldn't be bothered if there ended up being a total Sony takeover. Sony has proven that they can manage their studios quite well.

Of course, I am sure the haters will talk to me about a few studios here and there, but largely it's a true statement.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Fucking hell, some of you here must live life real hard in the dumps and have the worst fucking jobs ever. I hope you never have the opportunity to manage people or take on a role in leadership because some of the takes are terrible.

These benefits and perks make up a lot of what makes it worth working for a company. At the end of the day, it's about making money, enjoying what you do and being happy in the job. If Bungie start taking away all that stuff, it's going to have a negative impact and morale is going to drop. It's not rocket science and this industry is in a state where working for AAA companies is awful.

Have a bit of compassion people, even if Destiny 2 is shit and Bungie aren't the same company now.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Stupid of Sony to pay 3.5 billion, then create this shitshow.

Should've picked up Square Enix instead.

 

[Alebrije]

I Will share my secret formula to.success :

Make Good games, consumers will come.

Also a full Sony control would be better at this point.

 

[kruis]

It seems that Bungie oldtimers have trouble adjusting to the reality that beggars can't be choosers. They act like Sony needs Bungie more than Bungie needs Sony. When sales are falling 45% below projections fat has to be trimmed and that's exactly what Bungie management seems to be doing.

Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.

How the fuck can you complain about employee frustration and sadness about fewer knittling classes or no more new hire lunch program when the alternative was to sack even more people? Be glad that the vast majority at Bungie still has a job while their GAAS is finally cratering.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Missed a big part:

Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.

No way Sony holds on to their best talent with shit like this happening. Bungie is imploding.

How the fuck can you complain about employee frustration and sadness about fewer knittling classes or no more new hire lunch program when the alternative was to sack even more people? Be glad that the vast majority at Bungie still has a job while their GAAS is finally cratering.

All you got from that quote I also posted was knitting classes and lunch?

 

[Heisenberg007]

Fair enough.

Perform as you promised you'd and keep running things as you've been.
Or keep failing and there will be changes.

 

[Lupin25]

Seeing what’s happening with Destiny now, Bungie probably oversold themselves from (Sony’s pov) in an effort to acquire funding, while somehow maintaining full autonomy.

Plus the wait between The Final Shape & Marathon will be excruciating. Sony has to step in soon, this is going to spiral.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Welp! You made that bed, now you need to sleep in it. Suckers!

 

[adamsapple]

Missed a big part:



No way Sony holds on to their best talent with shit like this happening. Bungie is imploding.


All you got from that quote I also posted was knitting classes and lunch?

Thanks, added to OP.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I'm actually glad to hear there are triggers in place to take Bungie over entirely.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Stupid of Sony to pay 3.5 billion, then create this shitshow.

Should've picked up Square Enix instead.

Did you read anything? Sony isn't responsible for what's happening at Bungie right now...like at all.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

The studio actually would benefit from a takeover, the game has been in such a decline for a number of years now.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of its revenue goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company.

Missed this part. So seems like Sony could end up with Bungie altogether. Holy shit. Now that's a development...

 

[proandrad]

Oh no, evil Sony is going to come in and have people do actual work instead of coasting off the gaas model.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Yeah, I've been in a similar environment and it isn't fun. It's really frustrating when heads expect a studio to function as if nothing happened even though staff was let go, and numerous cuts are being made.

I can understand that they WANT it to function as it did, but I mean, come on man, if your studio is successful and the employees have a great relationship with one another, what do you expect to happen? Especially when it's extremely knowledgeable employees.

Cutting out key employees is surely going to affect the flow of things and the development of a project. Especially if those employees have worked together in their roles for several years. You can't just remove people, or move them around, and suddenly expect things to be the way they were right before the layoffs, or better than before.

EDIT: I feel awful for the devs there, especially because they're not the ones at the helm of all this. Or anywhere near it. They're just working for a studio that they love, on IPs they love and enjoy. That probably mean a lot to them. The heads and shot callers at the top of the studio clearly don't make great decisions.

 

[Punished Miku]

Bungie management sound like they've been wildly out of control for years. The fact that Sony doesn't already have total control is just an illustration of how full of themselves Bungie is after that much payout. Sounds like a very fragile "alliance" here.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

That’s what happens when you sell your soul to the devil…. Not only did they sell to Microsoft first, they we’re actually able to get out of that contract, yeah with a severed arm but they were able to do it.
Then they partner up with the devils henchmen Activision, in all impossible odds their able to break that 10 year contract….. only to allow themselves to be gobbled up by the devil again…..
3 strikes and your out Bungie, they will be assimilated into a Sony 1st party team, developing games specifically for Sony hardware in due time….

I just can’t feel sorry for them… sorry, not sorry..

 

[Draugoth]

So let me get this straight.Bungie bought their independence from Microsoft, making statements that they would be better off on their own, only to sell themselves to Activision, to then buy themselves out again, to make more statements about how they would be better off on their own, to then sell themselves to Sony….

Time is a flat circle I guess.

 

[JaksGhost]

Stupid of Sony to pay 3.5 billion, then create this shitshow.

Should've picked up Square Enix instead.

Tell us what shit show Sony made out of this, quickly.

 

[mayham2199]

"...delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays."
“soul-crushing”
"Others laid off included a noticeable number of members of Bungie’s DE&I clubs, including co-heads of Pride@Bungie, Women@Bungie, and Accessibility@Bungie. When combined with other recent resource cuts, these dismissals have led to fears these clubs might be shut down."

Goddamn living life on Easy Mode when having less knitting classes can be soul crushing.
Seems Bungie leadership is cutting the excess fat (or let's be real, the obesity) that has accumulated over the past decade.

I work with over 50+ companies in my area. This is happening to companies in all industries pretty much. I think O&G is still doing good though. People are losing their yearly bonuses from what I'm seeing. My own company had decreased bonuses in all forms by quite a bit.

 

[skit_data]

People feeling leadership is hostile, yet they fear a Sony takeover.
Pretty contradictory way of thinking, but it does seem to be the whole Bungie MO so I guess it trickles down

 

[OverHeat]

Fuck em they decided to be greedy and sell out…should have stayed with Microsoft in the end lol sucks for the employees so close to Christmas

 

[RagnarokIV]

The report speaks of changing morale-boosting events like cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly.

 

[Lucie Goosey]

Destiny is kind of played out at this point?

That's the thing. Even GAAS have an expiry date. And unless you can pull off the transition into the next thing, the studio suffers death from a thousand cuts.

So does something like Fortnite, and that's why the massive platform expansion from Epic.

That's on top of new GAAS releasing, and so people are incentivized to try other things.

Nothing's really changed, and it's business as usual.

 

[Dane]

Fucking hell, some of you here must live life real hard in the dumps and have the worst fucking jobs ever. I hope you never have the opportunity to manage people or take on a role in leadership because some of the takes are terrible.

These benefits and perks make up a lot of what makes it worth working for a company. At the end of the day, it's about making money, enjoying what you do and being happy in the job. If Bungie start taking away all that stuff, it's going to have a negative impact and morale is going to drop. It's not rocket science and this industry is in a state where working for AAA companies is awful.

Have a bit of compassion people, even if Destiny 2 is shit and Bungie aren't the same company now.

Because the benefit priority should be with first line necessities such as healthcare, dentist plans, and public transport passes, a secondary line is free lunch, anything else is regarded as luxury that will be cut in times of need to save jobs.

 

[Del_X]

News from the future: "Sony shuts down Bungie"