Bungie has confirmed major layoffs affecting most of the Destiny team and some members of the Marathon team, marking the third and largest wave of cuts since Sony acquired the studio in 2022.
Some Sony employees who work closely with Bungie have also been affected. The studio released a letter acknowledging the staff reductions and citing Destiny 2’s recent performance as a factor.
Last month, Bungie announced that it was finalize development of Destiny 2 live service items. Reports have since suggested that more substantial cuts were likely.
What Bungie said and its history of layoffs since the Sony acquisition
In an open letter to staff and fans, Bungie leaders acknowledged that Destiny 2 has fallen short of expectations in recent years.
They stated that following Destiny 2’s final content update, and although their next projects are still in the early stages, they were unable to continue operating at the same scale as before.
The letter also notes that this decision has a significant impact on the affected employees, as well as their family, friends and teammates.
While these changes are necessary to position the studio for the future, management emphasized that they understand how difficult this time is and how it affects those involved.
Bungie indicated that they will share more details about the studio’s future plans at a later date.
This is the third major round of layoffs at Bungie since Sony’s acquisition in 2022. The first occurred in October 2023, followed by a second round in July 2024 that saw 155 employees transferred from Bungie to Sony.
The current round, in June 2026, is the largest and has significantly reduced Bungie’s staff for about three years.
Destiny 2, Marathon and what this means for the live service shooter market
Destiny 2’s last major content update was released earlier this month, marking the end of the live service development cycle that has defined the franchise since 2017. The game will still be playable, but no significant updates are expected in the future.
Meanwhile, Bungie’s next extraction shooter, Marathon, is still in development. Some members of the Marathon team were affected by layoffs, although the studio has not specified how this will affect the project’s schedule or scope.
Liana Ruppert, former Bungie and Destiny 2 community manager, recently stated that the funding issues were due to leadership decisions and not issues with Marathon.
He mentioned that the Sony merger was seen as an emergency acquisition, without which Bungie could have been close to closure.
Bungie’s situation highlights the growing difficulty of sustaining the live shooter market. In recent years, several major publishers have scaled back or canceled titles from live services, citing market saturation and the challenge of competing for gamers’ attention against established games.
The cuts at Bungie are part of a broader trend, in which the gaming industry is experiencing layoffs. Microsoft expects to announce significant job reductions after its fiscal year ends on June 30, according to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Ubisoft has also reported plans to eliminate approximately 380 positions at its Belgrade and Winnipeg studios.
Sony’s position and the financial pressure behind Bungie’s cuts
Sony has not issued a public statement regarding Bungie’s layoffs beyond internal communications from Sony CEO Hermen Hulst. The company recently recorded a $565 million impairment charge related to Bungie, highlighting the financial pressures facing the studio.
Sony acquired Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion, aiming to strengthen its expertise in developing live service games. Since then, the expected growth has not materialized and the decline of Destiny 2 has led to a broader reorganization at Bungie.
The studio has not released specific staffing figures for the recent layoffs. Affected employees are receiving severance and transition support in accordance with Sony’s standard procedures, although no further details have been provided.
