- 292 Bungie employees have been laid off in Washington, according to the official numbers filed in the WARN notice.
- The layoffs include most of the Destiny team, with only one or two exceptions remaining.
- Justin Truman, the head of Bungie, has stepped down as part of the restructuring.
- Poria Torken, former VP of Operations, has replaced Justin Truman as the new head of Bungie.
- In an internal email, Hermen Hulst, Studio Business Group CEO, stated that a "significant number" of staff were affected by the layoffs.
- The layoffs were confirmed in a WARN filing with Washington State's Employment Security Department, with a formal separation date set for July 9.
- This marks Bungie's third round of layoffs in three years, with nearly 300 staff affected at their Bellevue office.
- Bungie has faced financial struggles for some time and was reportedly on the brink of closure before being acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022.
- Bungie's issues reportedly began around the time of last summer's Edge of Fate expansion, which was said to have underperformed.
Bungie has laid off 292 employees, primarily from the Destiny team, as part of a restructuring effort under new leadership. This decision, confirmed in a WARN notice, marks the studio's third round of layoffs in three years, with the formal separation date set for July 9.78
The layoffs were announced by Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Studio Business Group, who described the news as "painful" and "difficult", but necessary to align resources with current priorities. He noted that the layoffs affected "most of the Destiny team" and some members of the Marathon team.25
Bungie's financial struggles have been ongoing, with reports indicating the studio was on the brink of closure before being acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022. The company had previously announced the closure of development on Destiny 2, with Hulst praising the franchise's work as "truly remarkable".9
The layoffs come amid a broader trend of job cuts within the gaming industry, as companies reassess their development strategies. Bungie's new leadership, with Poria Torken replacing Justin Truman, is expected to guide the studio through this challenging transition.34
According to the WARN notice, Bungie once employed around 1,000 staff in Bellevue, Washington, but has seen significant reductions in workforce over the past year, with around 320 staff laid off between October 2023 and July 2024.
“Bungie has laid off 292 employees, primarily from the Destiny team, as part of a restructuring effort. This marks the studio's third round of layoffs in three years amid ongoing financial struggles.”
Forbes
GamesIndustry.biz
