Following the information that Bungie laid off 220 individuals, particulars have reportedly been revealed concerning the firm’s future, together with that it is not at present working on Destiny 3, that it’s going to shift its focus from bigger expansions to smaller updates for Destiny 2 that could be free, and {that a} Destiny spin-off was canceled.
Bloomberg spoke to 10 present and former Bungie staff who requested to not be recognized, and so they “described an organization that grew too quick and tried to develop too many initiatives without delay, spreading sources too skinny somewhat than prioritizing its chief moneymaker, Destiny 2.”
As a substitute of Destiny 3, Bungie Positioned a Huge Wager on Payback
Whereas there could also be many who believed Bungie was exhausting at work on Destiny 3, particularly contemplating Destiny 2 was launched in 2017, the studio determined to shift its focus to one thing fully new referred to as Payback.
Payback, which was described as taking components from such video games as Warframe and Genshin Impression, was set within the Destiny universe however was meant to “shake up the method in main methods.” As a substitute of being a first-person shooter, Payback was being developed as a third-person title that may see gamers utilizing the franchise’s characters to discover a big world and work collectively to “battle monsters and clear up puzzles.”
This was not being billed as a sequel to Destiny 2, however extra of a spin-off. Sadly, Payback was canceled simply two months in the past so Bungie may prioritize its extra imminent video games. As a substitute, it moved a lot of the payback group to work on Marathon, its PvP-focused extraction shooter live-service sport which is ready to be launched in 2025.
With no Payback and no Destiny 3 within the close to future, Bungie is planning to proceed supporting Destiny 2, albeit another way. Regardless of Destiny 2’s The Last Form growth reviewing very effectively – we gave it a 9/10 – the studio appears to be like to “not pursue paid expansions because it did prior to now.” In response to one of many sources, gross sales for every growth have declined yr after yr.
As a substitute of this annual launch mannequin for giant expansions, Bungie appears to be like to “retain and appeal to gamers with smaller-scale drops modeled after Into the Mild.” For these unfamiliar, Into the Mild was launched forward of The Last Form and added the Onslaught exercise, the Corridor of Champions social area, Parade Armor 2.0, the return of 12 iconic weapons with the BRAVE Arsenal, and rather more.
Moreover, Bungie is aiming to launch these updates at no cost alongside overhauling actions it hopes will maintain its hardcord participant glad. There are additionally “different obscure plans” that embrace a storyline that “will function characters and worlds that Destiny has not but explored.”
So, as an alternative of massive new Destiny 2 expansions, Bungie will put sources into these updates, a smoother onboarding course of, and extra. In a single shiny spot, among the sources mentioned they’re “optimistic concerning the imaginative and prescient for Destiny 2 beneath new director Tyson Inexperienced.”
Bother on the High
The layoffs have hit the group exhausting, and the general public Bloomberg spoke to have been essential of Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, saying he “didn’t take accountability for his personal unhealthy bets” and that he was “overly optimistic in his communication with the employees.”
There’s additionally fear as a result of longtime veterans Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy left Bungie this week, and that has led to lots of “lingering questions on the way forward for decision-making at Bungie.” Now, with out a few of its leaders, a giant hit to audio, narrative, and participant assist groups, and rather more, Bungie employees are actually creating world-class experiences with a “smaller employees, tighter schedules, and an organization that appears considerably completely different than it did three days in the past.”
Along with the layoffs, Bungie is hoping to maneuver 155 of its staff to Sony Interactive Leisure, and a seperate group can be a part of a group working on an incubation undertaking code-named Gummybears.
Ever since Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, issues haven’t gotten higher. Bungie took that money and “employed a whole lot of recent employees members and pursued myriad incubation initiatives, together with cell variations of Destiny, remakes of outdated video games and new franchises.” Now, it is most essential former and present staff are struggling after a few of these plans by no means noticed the sunshine of day or turned out as these in cost hoped. One of many sources even famous that Parsons informed employees in a gathering in later 2023 that Bungie had missed its income targets by 45% and was shedding cash.
For extra, try how one other former Bungie worker claimed the studio confronted insolvency with out Sony’s acquistion and the video games business’s criticism of Bungie mangagement and Parsons in wake of those layoffs.
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Adam Bankhurst is a author for IGN. You’ll be able to observe him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.