Destiny 2 developer Bungie will reportedly be halved in size this summer, according to claims from journalist Sylvain Trinel of French news channel BFM TV. The studio, known for creating Halo, has been in a volatile position for some time after several rounds of layoffs over recent years, but it now looks set to be downsized even further.
Massive Layoffs Expected
In a post on X, Trinel wrote (via machine translation): '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.' This follows a May report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier claiming a 'significant' number of layoffs were set to impact the studio after the last update for Destiny 2, which was rolled out on June 9. As of yet, there has been no official word on any layoffs.
In July 2024, following the previous round of layoffs, Bungie had roughly 850 people working at the studio. If the 50% figure is accurate, over 400 people could be laid off this year. Although it is just a rumour, it sounds plausible when combined with Bloomberg's sources. That report also claimed some Bungie staff were pitching new ideas, including some set in the Destiny universe, but none had been greenlit, and there were no immediate plans for Destiny 3.
Destiny 2's Resurgence
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. Over the past 24 hours, Destiny 2 reached a peak player count of 129,343 on Steam (via SteamDB), compared to 13,710 at the same point last month before the final update. It is clear there is 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 the studio is no stranger to bad management, as countless ex-staff have reported.
Marathon Struggles
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, while fellow extraction shooter Arc Raiders has a 24-hour peak of 52,340. Bungie has said it is committed to Marathon for years to come, but it is unclear if Destiny 2's resurgence could change the studio's priorities.
Sony bought Bungie for $3.6 billion (£2.6 billion) in 2022, and earlier this year, Sony reported a $765 million (£570 million) impairment loss related to Bungie assets following the launch of Marathon. Either way, it seems like Bungie will be downsized in a significant way.
