Bungie has confirmed significant layoffs affecting most members of the Destiny team and some members of the Marathon team, marking the third and largest wave of cuts since Sony acquired the studio in 2022.
Some Sony employees who work closely with Bungie have also been affected. The studio released a letter acknowledging the staff cuts and cited Destiny 2’s recent performance as a factor.
Last month, Bungie announced that it was ending development of the live-service elements of Destiny 2. Since then, reports have suggested that more significant cuts were likely.
What Bungie said and its history of layoffs since Sony’s acquisition
In an open letter to employees and fans, Bungie leadership admitted that Destiny 2 has fallen short of expectations over the past several years.
They stated that after Destiny 2’s last content update, and while their upcoming projects are still in the early stages, they were unable to continue working on the same scale as before.
The letter also said this decision will have a significant impact on affected employees as well as their families, friends and teammates.
While these changes are necessary to prepare the studio for the future, leadership stressed that they understand how difficult this moment is and how it impacts those involved.
Bungie indicated that they would share more details about the studio’s future plans at a later date.
This is the third major round of layoffs at Bungie since its acquisition by Sony in 2022. The first took place in October 2023, followed by a second round in July 2024 in which 155 employees were transferred from Bungie to Sony.
The current round, in June 2026, is the largest and has significantly reduced Bungie’s staff in nearly three years.
What does this mean for Destiny 2, Marathon, and Live? service shooter market
Destiny 2’s final major content update was released earlier this month, marking the end of the live-service development cycle that has defined the franchise since 2017. The game will still be playable, but no significant updates are expected in the future.
Meanwhile, Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, is still in development. Some members of the Marathon team were affected by the layoffs, although the studio has not specified how this will affect the project’s timeline or scope.
Former Bungie and Destiny 2 community manager, Liana Rupert, recently said that the funding issues were due to leadership decisions rather than problems with Marathon.
He noted that the Sony merger was seen as an emergency acquisition, without which Bungie would have been close to closure.
Bungie’s situation highlights the increasing difficulty of maintaining the live-service shooter market. In recent years, many major publishers have reduced or canceled live-service titles, citing market saturation and the challenge of attracting players’ attention compared to established games.
The cuts at Bungie are part of a broader trend in which the gaming industry is experiencing layoffs. According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Microsoft is expected to announce significant job cuts after the fiscal year ends on June 30. Ubisoft has also reported plans to cut approximately 380 roles at its studios in Belgrade and Winnipeg.
Sony’s situation and financial pressures behind Bungie cuts
Sony has not released any public statements regarding the Bungie layoffs, other than internal communications from Sony CEO Herman Hulst. Recently, the company recorded a $565 million impairment charge related to Bungie, highlighting the financial pressures facing the studio.
Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022 with the goal of strengthening its expertise in live-service game development. Since then, expected growth has not occurred, and the decline of Destiny 2 has led to extensive restructuring at Bungie.
The studio has not released specific staffing figures for the recent layoffs. Affected employees are receiving separation and transition support in accordance with standard Sony procedures, although further details have not been provided.
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