Bungie's future under Sony ownership reportedly uncertain following layoffs
Following layoffs at the Destiny 2 developer last month, employees are concerned about the studio's future under Sony, as it risks losing its independence due to poor financial performance.
The details:
According to a new IGN report, the current board of directors at Bungie includes PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, Sony senior vice president Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Bungie managing director Pete Parsons. Despite the mix of studio and Sony employees, the board may be dissolved entirely if Bungie fails to meet its financial targets, resulting in the studio being completely controlled by the parent company.
The studio's recent performance hasn't been great, with employees learning in October that revenue was 45% below projections for the year, resulting in the layoff of 8% of its workforce shortly after. The low revenue figures were attributed to Destiny 2's dwindling popularity, which hasn't been helped by a series of stumbles that have caused fans to abandon the game.
Bungie's next release, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, is seen as a lifeline for the studio as if it fails, more layoffs are likely, especially given that it has already been delayed. Aside from the aforementioned job losses, the company has also made cuts to hiring, cost of living salary adjustments, and other employee benefits, leaving little room for Bungie to miss its targets in the future.
More gaming news:
Skyrim's most recent patch added a new marketplace for Bethesda-verified creators to sell mods, resulting in a negative reaction from the community due to the company's previous attempt in 2015.
G2 Esports and Version1 have announced a strategic partnership in which Version1's ownership will become shareholders in G2, while G2 will operate Minnesota Røkkr, Version1's Call of Duty League team.
