Bungie devs imply CEO drove studio off a cliff while chasing growth

Developers at Bungie have spoken out about what led to the studio's newest round of layoffs earlier this week, which had been reportedly planned for some time.

Talking to Bloomberg, current and former staff say Bungie "grew too fast" and overextended itself with potential projects. They also put much of their ire on CEO Pete Parsons, who reportedly "failed to take accountability" for his part in these cuts.

Following these new layoffs, several former Bungie employees (and Destiny 2 players) actively called on Parsons to resign, alleging he was to blame for the studio's "overly ambitious" failures.

According to the outlet, Bungie received an influx of cash after Sony acquired it in 2022. The developer immediately went to work on incubating various projects, including an alleged mobile version of Destiny 2 and remakes for its older games.

One notable project was "Payback," described as a co-op spinoff influenced by Genshin Impact and Warfame. The title was canceled in June to work on the extraction shooter revival of Marathon, now aiming for a 2025 launch.

"Payback" was reportedly helmed by longtime Destiny 2 co-director Luke Smith and franchise VP Mark Noseworthy. Both have been with Bungie for over a decade, and left after the project's cancellation along with several top executives.

What happened and will happen with Bungie

As the game industry was laying off thousands in 2023, Bungie had other troubles to contend with. Destiny 2: Lightfall disappointed commercially, and the studio later delayed The Final Shape following its first reductions in October.

The Final Shape has been out for around two months, but a recent company meeting claims it missed its sales targets. In fact, sales of each Destiny 2 expansion have declined every year, though it's unclear when that starting point was.

At time of writing, it's uncertain what Bungie's new cuts mean for Destiny 2 and Marathon. The former reportedly faced heavy losses in its narrative, audio, and support departments.

It's further claimed the sci-fi shooter will do away with yearly expansions in favor of free, small content drops to draw in new players and overhauls to long-existing modes.

Bloomberg's full Bungie report can be read here.