Bungie is facing more layoffs which could reduce the studio’s workforce by 50% or more, as Marathon struggles to attract more players.
Halo creator Bungie has been in a volatile position for some time, after several rounds of layoffs over recent years, but it looks set to be downsized even further.
In May, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claimed a ‘significant’ number of layoffs were set to impact the studio following the last update for Destiny 2. That update was rolled out on June 9, but as of yet, there’s been no official word on any layoffs.
However, another journalist has now claimed cuts at the studio will occur ‘this summer’, and it will impact ‘at least’ 50% of the workforce.
This comes from Sylvain Trinel, a journalist from French news channel BFM TV. In a post on X (via machine translation), Trinel wrote: ‘Bungie should expect massive layoffs this summer.
‘I’m treading carefully, but I’m hearing talk of at least 50% of the workforce affected (permanent or contract staff) following the end of Destiny 2 and the situation with Marathon.’
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In July 2024, following the previous round of layoffs, Bungie had roughly 850 people working at the studio. If this figure is accurate then, over 400 people could be laid off from the studio this year.
Although it is just a rumour, it certainly sounds plausible when combined with Bloomberg’s sources. In that same report, it claimed some Bungie staff were pitching new ideas, including some set in the Destiny universe, but none had been greenlit at the time. Similarly, it claimed there were no immediate plans for Destiny 3.
Bungie is likely in an awkward spot because, following the last update for Destiny 2, the shooter has ballooned in popularity. Over the past week, it has jumped 35 places to become third in Steam’s top sellers.
Similarly, over the past 24 hours, Destiny 2 reached a peak player count of 129,343 on Steam (via SteamDB). At the same point last month, prior to the final update, the peak player count was at 13,710.
It’s clear there’s still an appetite for Destiny 2, so the decision to cut off updates – without any plans for a sequel – seems like a poor decision. But then the studio is no stranger to bad management, as we’ve heard countless times from ex-staff.
Similar complaints have been aimed at Microsoft over the years, in its handling of its various studios, many of which are also currently bracing for major cuts, and possible closure.
While it was perhaps never designed to compete with Destiny 2, Marathon’s numbers on Steam pale in comparison. At the time of writing, the extraction shooter has a 24 hour peak of 12,141 players. In comparison, fellow extraction shooter Arc Raiders has a 24 hour peak of 52,340, so Bungie’s shooter is clearly not catching on in the same way.
Bungie has said it is committed to Marathon for years to come, but it’s unclear if Destiny 2’s resurgence, if it holds up in the coming weeks, could change the studio’s priorities.
Either way, it seems like Bungie will be downsized in a significant way. Sony bought Bungie for $3.6 billion (£2.6b) in 2022, and earlier this year, Sony reported a $765 million (£570m) impairment loss related to Bungie assets following the launch of Marathon.
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