{"id":517988,"date":"2026-06-25T16:24:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/517988\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:24:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:24:07","slug":"bungie-announces-layoffs-as-it-admits-destiny-2-fell-short-of-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/517988\/","title":{"rendered":"Bungie Announces Layoffs as It Admits &#8216;Destiny 2 Fell Short of Expectations&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Destiny developer Bungie will lose a &#8220;significant number of employees&#8221; as part of brutal-sounding layoffs that will include &#8220;most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members,&#8221; PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst has confirmed. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In a public <a href=\"https:\/\/sonyinteractive.com\/en\/news\/blog\/an-update-from-playstation-studios-2\/\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">blog post<\/a>, Hulst described the decision as &#8220;difficult&#8221; and &#8220;painful,&#8221; but &#8220;necessary to align the studio\u2019s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals.&#8221; The news follows the recent ending of new content for <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/destiny-2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Destiny 2<\/a>, and amid a lackluster player numbers for new launch <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/games\/marathon\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marathon<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Hulst&#8217;s statement claims that &#8220;multiple alternatives&#8221; were explored before the layoffs were finalized, though offers no suggestion of what these might be. On Bungie&#8217;s Destiny franchise, Hulst calls the series &#8220;remarkable&#8221; but simply acknowledges that Destiny 2 is no longer receiving new content. There&#8217;s no suggestion of anything else being planned. (One report claimed that a <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/bungie-reportedly-considered-relaunching-destiny-as-destiny-infinity-before-deciding-to-pull-the-plug-on-destiny-2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Destiny 2 relaunch, rebranded as Destiny Infinity<\/a>, was discussed but ultimately dismissed.) <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">On Marathon, Hulst describes the fledgling extraction shooter as &#8220;an important part of our portfolio,&#8221; though also suggests its team \u2014 which sounds like it will be the only team left within Bungie \u2014 will also work on other projects.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Marathon remains an important part of our portfolio, and we will continue to support the team as they build on the strong foundation established in Season 1 and 2, and as they work on incubation efforts for future projects,&#8221; Hulst says. &#8220;While it\u2019s too early to discuss, we are encouraged by the creativity and opportunities that lie ahead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">PlayStation acquired Bungie back in 2022 for $3.6 billion, at a time that Destiny 2 was still going strong, and Sony was still looking to live-service games as the future \u2014 a policy it has since all but reversed. While exact staff numbers impacted by layoffs today have not been confirmed, Bungie is known to have employed 850 staff as of 2024, many of which were assigned to Destiny. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Today&#8217;s layoffs will also impact a smaller number of PlayStation&#8217;s own staff, whose roles were linked to supporting Bungie&#8217;s operations.<\/p>\n<p>Marathon Screenshots 2026 and 2025<img alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" decoding=\"async\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In its own <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Bungie\/status\/2070149689127973265\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">statement<\/a>, published via social media, Bungie confirmed its employees would suffer layoffs as the company was reorganized. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/jasonschreier.bsky.social\/post\/3mp4stadbc22h\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">stated<\/a> that Bungie&#8217;s studio head Justin Truman is stepping down.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Job losses at the studio had sadly been previously reported as likely following the shock news that <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/bungie-walks-away-from-destiny-2-final-content-update-coming-in-june\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bungie was effectively putting the Destiny franchise on ice after more than a decade<\/a>, with no further updates or expansions in the pipeline, and no imminent plan to make a full Destiny 3, despite <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/playstation-state-of-play-showcase-flooded-by-demands-for-destiny-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">countless calls from fans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Bungie&#8217;s own statement on the job losses lies below in full: <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;With great sadness, we are announcing a reduction in force as we reorganize Bungie.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;As the leaders of Bungie, past and present, we recognize Destiny 2 fell short of expectations these past several years. 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.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;We know this decision has a profound impact on the people affected, their families, friends, and teammates. While these changes are necessary to best position the studio now and for the future, that does not lessen the difficulty of this moment or the impact it has on those affected.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Later, we will share more about that future with you all but today is not that day.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Today, we wish to extend our gratitude and compassion to every member of the Bungie team who has been impacted and to those who remain. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;We hope you will do the same. &#8211; Bungie&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Earlier this month, a former Bungie staff member said that <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/the-only-way-to-keep-bungie-alive-is-to-support-marathon-ex-destiny-community-manager-says\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the only way to support the studio now was to support Marathon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tomphillipseg.bsky.social\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Destiny developer Bungie will lose a &#8220;significant number of employees&#8221; as part of brutal-sounding layoffs that will include&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-517988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}