The leadership of game developer Bungie is being called into question after another round of layoffs. 220 employees, 17% of the companies forces, have lost their jobs. Some of those now ex-employees are taking to social media to express their grievances with the company. Even if Destiny, Halo, Marathon are moneymakers for Bungie, it seems they simply weren’t enough. A worsening economy is being blamed, but some don’t quite see the reasoning as being that simple.
The Reasoning Behind the Layoffs
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In a statement released by Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, rising costs in development and shifts in the industry combined with the current economy harshly. He said the drastic action to let go 220 people has impacted every level of the company with executive and senior leadership roles being included. Parsons offered a roadmap to explain how the makers of Destiny, Halo, and Marathon got to this point. Bungie’s ambitions of shipping games in three lasting franchises led to a system that stretched teams and funds too thin. The company then went on to face economic and industry hardships in 2023 as well as the lackluster Destiny 2: Lightfall.
All of Bungie’s problems caused it to start running in the red in terms of profits. Parsons claimed that leadership tried everything they could to avoid these layoffs, but those efforts were not enough. A need to solve the company’s financial crisis led to this large group of people being let go, adding to the string of video game industry layoffs. According to Parsons, the employees impacted will receive an exit package that includes severance pay and health coverage.
Outrage From Ex-Employees
To many of the people who were let go, these packages are not enough to ease the pain of the situation. They have taken to social media in droves to express their anger and frustration regarding the situation. Ex-employees, such as Liana Ruppert, are even calling for Pete Parsons to step down as CEO. Accusations of corruption and mistreatment of employees are also spreading. Similar accusations spread in October of 2023 during a previous round of layoffs. About 100 people were let go during that time. That’s less than half of the amount let go this time around.
Among all the accusations is one that involves the personal purchases of Parsons. Some are claiming that he has flaunted his wealth before the eyes of struggling employees. Since Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) purchase of Bungie, Parsons has bought more than 20 classic vehicles during online auctions. That’s according to his personal account on the auto auction website Bring A Trailer. The total cost of these wins add up to around $2.4 million dollars. It is unclear if any of the money from the sale of Bungie went towards these vehicles.
What’s Next for Bungie
While the turmoil of current events continue, Parsons remains hopeful for the future. In his statement, he said two major changes will happen to improve the company. The first one is working on the integration with SIE. The apparent goal is to integrate about 12% of Bungie’s workforce into SIE. Parsons said SIE has been working hard to determine which roles would suit those employees best. He added that this group employees would have otherwise been impacted by the layoffs.
The next major change involves working with PlayStation Studios. This is meant to help get the ball rolling on a new project currently incubating. That new project is an action game set in an entirely new universe based on science fiction. Parsons hopes to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios to continue that game’s development.
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