Destiny 2 developer Bungie is facing a full takeover by Sony, according to a new report, leaving employees worried about the studio’s future.
Sony already owns Bungie, but the developer retains some autonomy. In a statement issued when the acquisition process started in January 2022, Bungie said “we remain in charge of our destiny. We will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games.”
The deal was completed in July of 2022 and was worth reportedly $3.7billion. Currently, the board of directors at Bungie is split between members from PlayStation and Sony, and members of Bungie itself.
In November 2023, Bungie laid off roughly eight per cent of its workforce, around 100 employees. This, according to the report from IGN, was part of a “scramble” by leadership at the studio to avoid Sony taking over fully.
Now, IGN has been told by their sources that the “currently split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of certain financial thresholds by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company.”
Since the layoffs, the atmosphere inside the studio has been “soul-crushing” according to IGN’s report, and employee concerns have been “met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management.”
As another IGN source at Bungie said, “Folks still there are very much feeling ‘us vs them’ between leadership and workers. That trust has been eroded.”
“We know we need [recently delayed Destiny 2 expansion] The Final Shape to do well,” another source said. “The feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”
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