Bungie Laying Off ‘Most of the Destiny Team and Some Marathon Team’

by
William D’Angelo
, posted 18 hours ago / 1,392 Views

Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst has announced PlayStation is laying off employees at Bungie. This includes “most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment teams that also support Bungie’s operations have been hit with layoffs. Those laid off are being informed today.

Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier is reporting Bungie studio head Justin Truman is stepping down. He succeeded Pete Parsons last year.

Read the message from Hermen Hulst below:

Dear Team, 

Today I want to share a difficult update regarding Bungie. 

We have made the decision to reduce Bungie’s workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members. There are also reductions across SIE teams that support Bungie’s operations. Those impacted at Bungie and within SIE are being informed today. 

This is painful news, especially for talented colleagues whose roles have been eliminated. This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here. Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. 

As Bungie recently shared in its Destiny 2 update, the studio has begun a new journey following the release of the game’s final live-service content update. What Bungie has accomplished with Destiny over the past decade has been truly remarkable. The franchise has left a lasting mark on players and the industry, and everyone who contributed to its success should be proud of what they helped create. 

Marathon remains an important part of our portfolio, and we will continue to support the team as they build on the strong foundation established in Season 1 and 2, and as they work on incubation efforts for future projects. While it’s too early to discuss, we are encouraged by the creativity and opportunities that lie ahead. 

Our immediate priority is supporting affected employees through this transition. We are providing transition support and, where possible, working to identify opportunities across SIE and our global network of studios. 

I want to sincerely thank every affected employee for their hard work, creativity, and contributions to Bungie, SIE, and the broader gaming community. 

I know today’s news is deeply difficult not only for those leaving, but for those colleagues and friends that remain. Please take the time you need to process this news and support one another.  

Thank you for your resilience and continued support during this difficult time. 

Hermen Hulst 
CEO, Studio Business Group 

Read a message from Bungie about the layoffs below:

With great sadness, we are announcing a reduction in force as we reorganize Bungie.

As the leaders of Bungie, past and present, we recognize Destiny 2 fell short of expectations these past several years. Following our final content update to Destiny 2, and with our future projects still in early incubation, we unfortunately could not continue operating at our previous size.

We know this decision has a profound impact on the people affected, their families, friends, and teammates. While these changes are necessary to best position the studio now and for the future, that does not lessen the difficulty of this moment or the impact it has on those affected.

Later, we will share more about that future with you all but today is not that day.

Today, we wish to extend our gratitude and compassion to every member of the Bungie team who has been impacted and to those who remain.

We hope you will do the same.

—Bungie

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.

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