Sources: Sony's Bungie cut ~100 jobs out of ~1,200 after executives said revenue was 45% below projections for the year, citing a drop in Destiny 2's popularity
- Sales at studio were running 45% below projections for year — Layoffs are part of a bigger revamp at SonyPlayStation unit
BloombergJason Schreier
Context & Ripple Effects
This cut is an early financial-pressure marker in Bungie’s Sony-era arc: the studio’s reported revenue miss was folded into a wider PlayStation-unit revamp. Subsequent coverage said Bungie was also trying to avoid a full Sony takeover tied to financial goals.
Later reporting describes deeper retrenchment, including [[a:872383|a further 220-job reduction amid concerns that Bungie had expanded across too many projects]] and, ultimately, significant cuts to teams working on Destiny and Marathon. That sequence makes the initial miss relevant as the start of a longer reset rather than an isolated staffing action.
First-order effects
About 100 Bungie employees lose their jobs, while the remaining organization is put under pressure to align spending and staffing with weaker-than-expected sales.
Sony’s PlayStation leadership gains a clearer financial rationale to include Bungie in its broader operational revamp.
Second-order effects
The reported shortfall increases the likelihood of tighter Sony oversight over Bungie’s budget, project slate, and performance targets; later reporting tied those targets to the possibility of greater Sony control.
A smaller team and a revenue miss can force prioritization around Destiny 2, limiting room for parallel development efforts—an issue later associated with Bungie’s attempt to pursue too many projects at once.
Third-order effects
If this pattern persists, Sony’s acquired live-service studios may be managed less as autonomous creative bets and more through explicit financial milestones and centralized portfolio controls.
The later rounds of Bungie cuts suggest that workforce reductions alone may not resolve a live-service studio’s mismatch between player engagement, revenue expectations, and development ambition.
The trend: This is one data point in a broader shift toward stricter financial accountability for major publishers’ live-service investments after engagement or revenue falls short of plan.
Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio. What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.
Well... my heart is breaking for all affected I am now looking for opportunities. I have 21 years of games industry experience in media, production, and community management. I'm processing,I'm so heartbroken. I don't know what to do from here... this was my home. I feel so lost
I know layoffs are happening across the industry, but what's happening at Sony feels like a scorched-earth approach. It's scary. And now I see Firesprite rumblings that I can only hope are false.
Genuinely stunned at the Bungie layoffs. 1.2 billion dollars of the Sony deal was allocated for staff retention and they *still* start firing people just over a year after. What we're seeing is an industry being decimated by corporate malpractice and insatiable greed.
Bungie: If you had pre-ordered/bought from us more, they wouldn't have lost their jobs. Maybe if you had listened to your staff, who begged you to make necessary changes instead of telling them you can't ship a product because it's “overdelivery,” this might not have happened.
Can't get new players: $60 entry fee + $12 tri-monthly sub, the New Light questline is a TERRIBLE tutorial, and the game auto starts you into story missions in the middle. Can't keep existing players: $12 tri-monthly sub, low new content, removing existing content, Gambit who?!
@jasonschreier It's our fault guys. We just didn't get tricked hard enough into buying $15 worth of silver to buy a $12 battle pass 😓😓😓 Sorry Bungie, you're right. Laying off some of the best people on your staff WAS the only option, we see that now 👍
Just so we're clear, they claim they were 45% below PROJECTIONS It's too easy to have SH!T projections and use that as an excuse to fire people Looking at the numbers on Steam, Lightfall's first 3 seasons are looking quite similar to The Witch Queen's in terms of player count... …
What a fucking joke. The game is going to shit and you have employees literally begging for changes to help the situation, and instead of listening to them, you LAY THEM OFF. What kind of backwards regime is Bungie leadership? Player sentiment is even worse now you utter morons. …
So Bungie leaders missed revenue targets by a staggering 45%. In May they also looked at Naughty Dog's Last of Us Factions and based on their assessment it got it put on ice. Not a good look. I find that incredibly concerning given the fact that this report happened...
- ~100 people laid off, 8% of staff - Missing revenue targets by 45%(!) - Weak player retention after Lightfall - Final Shape getting “good not great” feedback, delayed for improvement - Some cut roles are getting outsourced Read full thing:
The real story to be told re: Bungie/Destiny 2 layoffs is what is cause for revenue to be down -45% vs. targets. Are players less willing to spend in the store: microtransactions and season passes? Are people just not buying new content (Lightfall), but playing for free?...
This is a wider Sony problem. The GaaS bet and investments in VR and the Xbox fight and all the rest. Bungie chose these cuts and how to do them (badly) but Sony is facing clear headwinds. Spider-Man/PS5 sales aside, larger issues going on here
the Destiny 2 community used to blame Activision for any game or company issues. Now some are attempting to blame Sony. Maybe it's Bungie leadership that has led the company to where it is today?
The same Bungie that caused Naughty Dog to put Factions on ice... Bungie themselves weren't hitting targets and galvanising staff to do better a lot like how Ubisoft's Yves was doing the same for the staff in that infamous email.... Shit ain't smooth at Sony atm... [image]
Bloomberg is reporting that Bungie has cut around 8% of its staff following warnings about Destiny 2 popularity dropping. Revenue was down 45% below projections for the year 😬 I know many Destiny players that have simply had enough of the game https://www.bloomberg.com/...
NEW: Bungie laid off ~8% of staff Monday, or around 100 people, sources tell Bloomberg. Two weeks ago, staff were told they were projected to miss revenue targets by 45%. Employees were galvanized to get things on track... then came surprise layoffs https://www.bloomberg.com/... …
Hey friends! This morning I was affected by the layoffs at Bungie. I'll be fine. 20 years in the industry, you learn to roll with punches like these. But I will miss my team dearly. Going to take a beat before refocusing and figuring out what's next for me. In times like...