Bungie leadership reportedly 'overstated studio's financial prospects' to Sony, leading to need for layoffs

Following yesterday’s mass layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie – in which 220 employees lost their jobs – a new report has claimed the cuts were a result of Bungie leadership ‘overstating the studio’s financial prospects’ to Sony, which acquired the developer in 2022.

That’s according to sources interviewed by journalist Stephen Totilo, who, writing in his GameFile newsletter, reports yesterday’s job cuts were necessary to stem Bungie’s continued financial losses. The studio is said to have repeatedly missed financial targets promised to Sony, and has reportedly lost money since the release of Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall in 2023.

Totilo claims yesterday’s layoffs – the second round of job cuts in less than a year – had long been planned, and “couldn’t be avoided” even if this year’s Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, had “blockbuster performance”. Bungie management reportedly concluded last year – amid poor sales and a dwindling Destiny 2 player base – it would need to “make deep cuts to show Sony’s executives that it was taking its finances seriously”, with the studio’s autonomy – and management jobs – seemingly on the line if it failed to meet its targets.