Bungie reportedly warned employees of “sharp drop” in Destiny 2 popularity prior to layoffs

Yesterday’s layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie reportedly impacted 100 employees – roughly 8% of its 1,200-strong workforce – and occurred simply weeks after administration warned employees that income for the yr was working considerably beneath expectations.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which stories Bungie employees had been issued “dire management warnings” that income was 45 p.c beneath projections simply two weeks in the past. The stoop is alleged to be the outcome of a “sharp drop” in the popularity of Destiny 2, with Bungie CEO Pete Parsons having reportedly highlighted weak participant retention on the time.

In that very same assembly, in accordance to Bloomberg sources in attendance, Parsons advised employees that Destiny 2’s subsequent enlargement, The Final Shape – which concludes the sport’s present Light and Darkness saga – was solely getting “good” quite than “great” suggestions. As such, administration was planning to delay its launch to enhance the product.

Parsons can be stated to have outlined cost-cutting measures throughout the assembly, alongside wage and hiring freezes, telling employees they might have to “work together to weather the storm”. However, a big quantity of employees reportedly began their Monday morning yesterday with a mysterious 15-minute assembly positioned in their schedule, the place they might ultimatley be told of their termination from the corporate.

Bloomberg, primarily based on documentation reviewed by the publication, says round 8 p.c – roughly 100 employees – had been laid off, primarily from firm’s help departments, together with neighborhood administration and publishing. All affected employees will reportedly obtain a minimum of three months of severance pay and three months of Bungie-paid COBRA medical insurance, however further advantages are stated to have ended Monday.

Bloomberg says the layoffs are half of a “larger money-saving initiative” at PlayStation, which has additionally resulted in job cuts at Media Molecule, Naughty Dog, and different areas of the enterprise.

Following the information of layoffs at Bungie, Parsons took to social media to name it a “sad day” for the studio. “What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future,” he wrote. “These are truly talented people.”