Destiny 2 maker Bungie is among the many newest online game studios to be hit with layoffs. First reported by Bloomberg, the downsizing is a part of a large restructuring throughout Sony Interactive Entertainment, with no official numbers out there but. Based on social media posts from affected staff, the communications, social media, and publishing departments on the studio had been hit the toughest. Sony acquired Bungie in January 2022 in a $3.6 billion (about Rs. 29,973 crore) deal, enabling them to perform independently and push ahead the previous’s plans for extra live-service video games. The studio can be delaying its upcoming titles — a Destiny 2 enlargement referred to as The Final Shape and a reboot of Marathon, Bungie’s first-person shooter title from 1994.
“Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted after reviews got here out. “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.” Understandably, the submit was met with collective disdain from others on-line, with many asking the place precisely Sony’s cash flows. It’s an attention-grabbing growth, contemplating PlayStation had promised Bungie in 2022 that there can be ‘completely no layoffs’ as the corporate continued to restructure. As a part of that, the previous spent $1.2 billion (about Rs. 9,991 crore) to retain all the important thing employees members — paid out over a number of years.
Today is a tragic day at Bungie as we are saying goodbye to colleagues who’ve all made a big influence on our studio. What these distinctive people have contributed to our video games and Bungie tradition has been monumental and can proceed to be part of Bungie lengthy into the longer term.
— pete parsons (@pparsons) October 30, 2023
As talked about earlier than, the upcoming Destiny 2 enlargement The Final Shape has been delayed from February to June, which is poised to conclude its storyline by establishing a battle in opposition to The Witness, the illustration of darkness. Some of this lore was drip-fed to gamers as a part of subsequent seasons, making the Lightfall enlargement one of many worst obtained DLCs within the franchise. Back in May, in the course of the PlayStation Showcase occasion, Bungie additionally revealed a reboot of Marathon, a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, the place the story evolves by finishing aims and collaborating in in-game occasions. No uncooked gameplay footage was launched, however the developer revealed that it is set on a low-orbit colony, whose 30,000 inhabitants simply mysteriously disappeared. As a cybernetic Runner, it’s our job to uncover mysterious artefacts and search out assailants to disclose the bigger story. In mild of the layoffs, Marathon has been delayed to 2025.
Sony PlayStation had The Last of Us creators Naughty Dog let go of 25 staff, with the affected allegedly not receiving any severance funds. Despite being an unimaginable 12 months for video games, the folks making them have been struggling by huge layoffs, studio shutdowns, and chief studio executives leaving. Fortnite maker Epic Games minimize down 16 p.c of its employees in September — about 830 staff — with CEO Tim Sweeney claiming that the corporate had been spending more cash than it was incomes. Industry big Embracer Group has additionally been eliminating the builders it had acquired, shutting down Saints Row creator Volition and placing Borderlands’ Gearbox up on the market.
Destiny 2 The Final Shape is now slated to launch someday in June 2024, throughout PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
