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Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover - IGN
- Thread starter adamsapple
- Start date
Gamer_By_Proxy
Member
"DEI clubs were hit hard"
Hero_Select
Member
"Employees in one department recalled a post-layoffs Q&A session where a department head was asked if leadership taking salary cuts to prevent layoffs had been considered, only to respond that Bungie was “not that type of company.”"
I'm surprised by everyone here seemingly taking Sonys side.. but then again this isn't Bungies first rodeo.. regardless this is a shitty way of treating your employees.
I'm surprised by everyone here seemingly taking Sonys side.. but then again this isn't Bungies first rodeo.. regardless this is a shitty way of treating your employees.
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ChuckeRearmed
Member
Oh no
Anyway
Anyway
diffusionx
Gold Member
Well there are two things here, one is that Destiny 2 massively underperformed in 2023, and the things they are talking about here are luxury perks that come from a stable, high-performing company which Bungie arguably is not at the moment. So on some level the employees have to expect this, but I know many millenials and zoomers simply do not understand expect the corporation to be their new mommy, after college and their actual mommy.
Second, every company right now is dealing with inflation which is still a problem no matter what the government and media say. Every company is looking hard at expenses to manage them right now. So you have a bad year and a bad economic environment, and on top of that, possibly a forever-changed environment where Destiny is not the draw it was in 2021 or 2017.
I'm going to sound like a management shill here, but nobody does salary cuts except in very rare instances. First, I don't know how Bungie pays their leadership but it is quite likely that more of their compensation is performance-based so that's baked in. Second, Countless studies have shown they're just a terrible idea and you're better off just getting rid of the person. It just leads to disgruntled employees who usually end up leaving the firm and they can wreak havoc in the meantime. When salary cuts are done it's usually at the very very top, like a CEO level, and it's performative. In the grand scheme of things it's not that much money and doesn't change the overall structural issues that led to the performance gap.
Like the widely cited on game forums example of Iwata's pay cut around Wii U, yea it looked great and got him good PR (which is why I am talking about it a decade later), but it didn't actualy turn around the company or signal some new start, what turned around the company was fixing their issues and releasing a product people wanted.
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justiceiro
Marlboro: Other M
"Wow people got fired. Let's make a article how hard this has been for people that still have their jobs."
- IGN
- IGN
Zathalus
Member
A complete Sony takeover does not equal job security. Sony is certainly not shy about doing layoffs or shutting down studios."complete Sony takeover" = actually being successful and having job security
DE&I clubs hit hard
mitch1971
Member
If you are going to release bare minimum dlc and start chopping up the features into seperate chargable chunks of content, delete paid for content, leave parts of the content untouched for years, then what do they expect? The writing on the wall was obvious years ago which is why I gave up on it. The bullshit the game has become is embarrassing.
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hououinkyouma00
Member
Bungie isn't what it used to be and hasn't been for awhile.
It just seems like the passion isn't there anymore and it's only about money. Plus Destiny is pretty shit.
If PlayStation does take control then I won't feel bad. Bungie has flip flopped from company to company over and over. They decide they want independence and then just jump in bed with people again. Repeat process. First Microsoft (which was understandable and same with why they would want independence from said company) but then they did it again with Activision, and I'm sure it would happen with Sony as well.
It just seems like the passion isn't there anymore and it's only about money. Plus Destiny is pretty shit.
If PlayStation does take control then I won't feel bad. Bungie has flip flopped from company to company over and over. They decide they want independence and then just jump in bed with people again. Repeat process. First Microsoft (which was understandable and same with why they would want independence from said company) but then they did it again with Activision, and I'm sure it would happen with Sony as well.
Interfectum
Member
The cuts were done by Bungie's leadership without influence from Sony. Again where is Sony at fault for Bungie's leadership being terrible? They wanted independence and Sony has been hands off but look where that has got them again.
LordCBH
Member
Hit ‘em harder lol
ResilientBanana
Member
If it's not Microsoft or Activision, it's now Sony. I think the problem is Bungie management.
SEGAvangelist
Member
This is the first thing I assume will happen after the takeover, but I doubt they'll do that for Marathon as it will need all the help it can get as a major GaaS game.
Alebrije
Member
Sorry for the people working at Bungie but the bubble has imploded, they company is now on a financial trouble and when this happens changes occurs, specially on benefits that are not an industry standart.
This is the result of years of mistakes, and pretty workers knew this Will happen , it was just a question of time...so of You were working on Bungie and knew the only product was crap why no look for a new job before the snowball crash.
Also think we are just at the tip of the iceberg , Big changes Will come.
This is the result of years of mistakes, and pretty workers knew this Will happen , it was just a question of time...so of You were working on Bungie and knew the only product was crap why no look for a new job before the snowball crash.
Also think we are just at the tip of the iceberg , Big changes Will come.
Embearded
Member
They should start cutting the high management salaries and bonuses before firing people. Period.
What i said about MS - Activision also applies here.
In this industry a publisher should not have different rules for their studios unless they earned that through multiple successful releases (ND).
We know about the frustration Kojimas "blank check" created back in 2016 for Sony. Multiple studios complained as they were under Sony studios umbrella for years and they didn't get such high budgets or even passion projects greenlight.
Sony must step in and take control, but i fear their GaaS inexperience could be damaging.
What i said about MS - Activision also applies here.
In this industry a publisher should not have different rules for their studios unless they earned that through multiple successful releases (ND).
We know about the frustration Kojimas "blank check" created back in 2016 for Sony. Multiple studios complained as they were under Sony studios umbrella for years and they didn't get such high budgets or even passion projects greenlight.
Sony must step in and take control, but i fear their GaaS inexperience could be damaging.
People allegedly feel their souls are crushed because the company is "reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly".
This explains a lot to people who went to college before they were turned into adult day care and indoctrination centers.
This explains a lot to people who went to college before they were turned into adult day care and indoctrination centers.
SEGAvangelist
Member
Do you think Gummy Bears will save them?
thegamepost.com
Sources: Bungie is Working on a MOBA-esque game, codenamed ‘Gummy Bears’
Bungie, the developer behind the popular looter-shooter, Destiny and recently revealed Marathon, is working on its third game, codenamed “Gummy Bears,”
thegamepost.com
Represent.
Represent(ative) of bad opinions
They should be forced to make exclusive PS5 games. Stop watering down your product by developing for multiple platforms, you can barely even function. Focus on games for 1 platform.
If Im Sony I mandate that shit tomorrow.
If Im Sony I mandate that shit tomorrow.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Seeing a common denominator with quality going down in all companies that employ this agenda driven mind-rot."DEI clubs were hit hard"
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SEGAvangelist
Member
Or ya know... it' s the hiring freeze, elimination of holiday bonuses, reduced travel budgets, removal of annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, and a reduction in employee performance bonuses. But sure. Knitting is what they are worried about.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
Gold Member
For some reason the tweet I linked to in my post was deleted. Here's a screenshot with it.
The author of the IGN report also provided more info via the purple forum:
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Ass of Can Whooping
Member
Whip the dissenters and initiate total assimilation.
a PS5 only bungie is a happy bungie
a PS5 only bungie is a happy bungie
ProtoByte
Member
No doubt IGN's sources are the divas from the last "exposé" they did on Bungie.
Maybe if they spent less time knitting and regurgitating DEI slop in a corporate circlejerk sesh and more time making a half decent product they wouldn't be in this position.
It cannot be overstated - Bungie was 1200-1400 full-time employees strong before these ~100 layoffs. Most of if not the plurality of those people being from departments like legal, HR and community management. People who don't have much to do with making the game.
Hopefully management across the board in the industry recognizes that they've allowed too many mentally ill and emotionally underdeveloped whiners into their companies.
Maybe if they spent less time knitting and regurgitating DEI slop in a corporate circlejerk sesh and more time making a half decent product they wouldn't be in this position.
It cannot be overstated - Bungie was 1200-1400 full-time employees strong before these ~100 layoffs. Most of if not the plurality of those people being from departments like legal, HR and community management. People who don't have much to do with making the game.
Hopefully management across the board in the industry recognizes that they've allowed too many mentally ill and emotionally underdeveloped whiners into their companies.
Crispy Gamer
Member
I'm confused did Sony do something bad here? It reads like Bungie just has bad management
Oh, I get that's not the only reason their souls are crushed.
But I also stand by what I wrote.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
CoreyFlawless
Member
Bungie is done for. It will never be the same or like it was. Maybe 5-10 years from now. They come back and be glory again. Or they be a shell of them self’s.
First and only poster in this thread who actually seems to know and has even played the game.
I agree with you. I'm longing most to replay old (and deleted) strikes, gambit maps, exotic missions and destination-tied activities such as Escalation Protocol and The Menagerie. Sunsetting was their biggest mistake and it all started getting worse from there. In exchange we got the most formulaic game ever. Every season you know exactly what you're getting, and when. No more twists or surprises.
calistan
Member
That’s right, Sony getting rid of the board and taking full control would be like the company being placed into administration. There probably wouldn’t be much left of it afterwards.
Fart Knight
Al Pachinko, Konami President
tmlDan
Member
This may be shocking to you but the CEO, who does not make games, is not the reason Bungie is successful. From the looks of it its the reason their monetary practices are ruining them and making them look bad.
Getting rid of them may be a good thing.
Bernardougf
Gold Member
Fuck.. I can clear picture a 20 year old, gender neutral, with his not so long hair tied in a samurai style, beard and glasses, with a colorfull scarf around his neck on a hot day, pants that end well above his shoes, drinking latte with soy milk, named Star or Ocean giving this interview and complaining about having to work without his/her knitting classes
Biggest small violin moment ever.. so here you go Ocean Star.. this is for you
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
"But our creative knitting and pronoun discussions groups!"
Trim the deadbeat and deadweight mental patients.
Ar¢tos
Member
They are selling a single dance emote for 10$ in Destiny and single weapon/ghost skins for 8$. One set of armor ornaments costs 20$.
No surprise their revenue is down and the management is to blame for that, they got really greedy.
Syphon Filter
Member
Low energy console warrior bait.
Bungie will make movie games with casual gameplay if sony has total takeover control.
Dr. Samuel Hayden
Member
Bungie management has been a trainwreck pretty much forever TBH. It's a miracle the Halo games turned out as good as they did.
That said, it seems things are really unraveling now. I'll be a bit surprised if Bungie still exists in a few years.
Oh and also, DEI cult members being booted is nothing but good news.
That said, it seems things are really unraveling now. I'll be a bit surprised if Bungie still exists in a few years.
Oh and also, DEI cult members being booted is nothing but good news.
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TheThreadsThatBindUs
Member
Virtue signaling horseshit!!!
Bungie workers aren't there to enjoy free lunches. They're there to work and deliver quality gaming experiences. Sony paid a cool $3.5bln for the company to do that. They've been failing on that.
Company benefits are nice-to-have perks you can enjoy in good times when there's money coming in. Bungie's finances have been really bad... like studio-jeopardizing-bad. So it stands to reason that they have to cut costs.
It's prudent business administration to cut unnecessary costs when business is slow. Those things can and are often reinstated when business picks up again. But until then, the onus on the workforce is to knuckle down and deliver. Maybe had Bungie leadership focused on doing just that instead of engaging in self-indulgent corporate DE&I fanfare, then they wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place.
Ovech-King
Gold Member
What did they expect by milking only ONE game for over 6 years now lol