“Due to a sharp decline in popularity”

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Bungie, the studio behind the loot shooter Destiny 2, laid off around 100 employees this week, representing around 8% of its workforce. This decision was made after serious warnings from management because the shooter had lost a lot of popularity.

This is why so many Bungie employees were laid off: In recent years, many players have loved Destiny 2, Bungie’s FPS loot shooter. But there have been signs of a decline in the former hype for some time. That led to management’s difficult decision this week to make layoffs.

According to reports from the business website Bloomberg, the changes were communicated to the workforce:

  • Two weeks ago, executives at the Sony-owned developer informed employees at a meeting that current year revenue was 45% below expected results.
  • As a consequence, the release of the upcoming DLC ​​“Die Finale Form” will be postponed from February to June 2024. The statement comes from people who reported this to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. They wanted to remain anonymous.
  • According to these employees, they were also told at that meeting that the mood among Destiny 2 players had reached “an all-time low.”

    • The delay in the DLC release gives Bungie employees more time for development and thus the opportunity to improve the Destiny 2 product.

    CEO Pete Parsons is said to have said at the time: “To weather the storm, everyone has to work together” and emphasized that employees were also determined to do whatever it takes to increase sales again.

    The final form of Destiny 2, the last DLC in the light and darkness saga, is almost prophetic for the “beginning of the end”. Even if Bungie doesn’t want to let it get to that point.

    Destiny 2: The Final Form – The final DLC of the first saga

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    The layoffs came as a surprise: The situation worsened on Monday morning when numerous Bungie employees were unexpectedly invited to 15-minute meetings with management. According to their own statements, they were told that they would be fired and that the upcoming wave of layoffs would be announced.

    Bungie’s sales were 45% below forecasts

    This is what the loot shooter is currently like: The “Lightfall” expansion received very bad reviews from players. Players were dissatisfied with the story and the game itself.

    Many long-time Guardians were no longer interested in pre-ordering the final DLC for the once-popular video game. Although the latest expansion, The Finale Form, has been well received by players so far, the feedback hasn’t been outstanding, as Bloomberg reports:

  • The decision for the layoffs came after dire warnings from management about a significant decline in Destiny 2’s popularity.
  • In total, 8% of the workforce was laid off to respond to the challenges of waning interest.

    • Some players had canceled their pre-orders and wanted to experience the ending on YouTube instead of playing in person.

    Destiny 2: Fans would rather watch YouTube than play the story in “The Final Form” themselves

    Layoffs are part of a larger savings initiative: According to IGN magazine, the layoffs are largely due to Destiny 2’s poor performance last year and “lower-than-expected pre-orders.”

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    Speaking to some current and former employees, it was also confirmed that Bungie itself took full responsibility for the layoffs rather than blaming it on parent company Sony.

  • The developer also took other measures to mitigate the financial impact of Destiny 2’s sharp decline in popularity.
  • According to reports, costs such as travel have been reduced and salary and hiring freezes have been introduced.
  • The terminated ex-employees also received at least three months of severance pay and COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) health benefits. However, other company services were immediately discontinued.

    • The developer’s remaining employees were informed that the affected positions in the areas of communication, PR, support and sound design, which now had to be eliminated, would be outsourced to external companies in the future.

    Destiny 2 isn’t completely dead yet

    This is how it continues now: Despite the difficulties, it is important to note that Bungie and Destiny 2 are not going away for now.

    CEO Pete Parsons has told the rest of the employees that the company has retained “the right people” to continue work on the space shooter in the future, as IGN reports.

    So Bungie will continue to support Destiny 2 and develop new content to delight the remaining players and perhaps attract new ones. The industry is highly competitive and adaptability is essential to survival.

    However, industry analyst Doug Creutz from TD Cowen also noted that “these recent events [bei Bungie] Showing signs of restructuring at PlayStation.” The layoffs are probably part of Sony-PlayStation’s current savings initiative.

    How do you feel about the decision to lay off employees due to Destiny 2’s decline in popularity? Positive or negative? Did you expect this development or not? So what do you think of Destiny 2 now? Feel free to share your opinion with the community in the comments.

    With the layoffs, Bungie also let Destiny’s most famous composer go: Destiny 2: Bungie is laying off many employees, including the beloved composer – “The Beginning of the End”

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