Bungie Is Set to Lose Around 400 Employees This Summer Due to Layoffs

One of the most talked-about developments over the past month has been the situation surrounding Bungie and Destiny 2. The developers confirmed they will no longer support their online project, and on June 9th, the final expansion, symbolically titled The Final Shape, was released. However, this move appears to have some unpleasant consequences, as it is expected that the developers will lose a significant portion of their staff.

A French journalist from the BFMTV channel Sylvain Trinel posted on his X page that, in the best-case scenario, about 50% of Bungie employees will be laid off this summer. Initially, Bloomberg reported the layoffs within the company but did not specify the approximate number of affected staff. However, we now have some estimated figures. Here is the full statement from Trinel you can check out below:

“Bungie is expected to undergo massive layoffs this summer. I'm taking this with a grain of salt, but I'm hearing that at least 50% of the workforce (permanent or contract) will be affected as a result of the end of Destiny 2 and the situation in Marathon.

This is especially hard for me because Bungie is a studio with heart, and none of this should have happened if everything had been handled properly. It's very sad, and I'm thinking of the developers who poured their hearts and souls into their respective universes.”

Despite ending support for Destiny 2, Bungie is currently not working on a third installment due to budget constraints. However, they continue to actively support their new online shooter, Marathon. That said, things are not so straightforward even there, as Steam users recently noticed a significant increase in player activity for the 2017 game since the release of its latest expansion, The Final Shape—especially in contrast to the disappointing performance of Marathon. According to SteamDB, over the past 24 hours, Destiny 2 had more than 125,000 concurrent players, while Marathon saw just over 12,000.

Are you disappointed that Bungie will layoffs around 50% of their stuff? Share your thoughts in the comments below!