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Bungie is eliminating ~415 roles, Hermen Hulst runs Bungie [~32% of the total workforce: 220 laid off, 155 moved to SIE, ~40 to a new studio]
- Thread starter Joseki
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They said they were in the red before The Final Shape even shipped. I’m assuming having 1300 people working on a bunch of stuff where only one project was actually bringing in money probably wasn’t sustainable.
The Marathon delay is probably hurt them the most
Bungie's deep job cuts were in the works prior to Destiny's most recent release, sources say
The acclaimed studio has been shedding jobs since Sony bought it, but employee ire is focused on Bungie leaders more than the bosses at PlayStation
www.gamefile.news
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Bungie's deep job cuts were in the works prior to Destiny's most recent release, sources say
The acclaimed studio has been shedding jobs since Sony bought it, but employee ire is focused on Bungie leaders more than the bosses at PlayStation
www.gamefile.news
The more things surface the more I think Bungie will shut down entirely if Marathon flops.
No pressure here.
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The studio that's seen as having developed the model for GaaS games struggling so much really says soemthing about GaaS games.
They’ve been at risk since at least the Activision partnership so this isn’t too surprising to hear. Seems like their bad practices have finally caught up to them w/workers taking the brunt for horrible management again.
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These mergers have been home run winning so far.
Bungie's deep job cuts were in the works prior to Destiny's most recent release, sources say
The acclaimed studio has been shedding jobs since Sony bought it, but employee ire is focused on Bungie leaders more than the bosses at PlayStation
The more things surface the more I think Bungie will shut down entirely if Marathon flops.
No pressure here.
Marathon is weird. The trailer was really neat but I dont think extraction shooters have really taken the world by storm (after a brief flirtation with Tarkov). It just seems so difficult to imagine it could be a successful GAAS. I will try it, Bungie after Halo and Destiny being easily two of the biggest games in my life has earned that.
In hindsight lightfall was bad. IMO it was where Destiny began to lose some of it's core strengths like art, for the first time. even though noone talked about this.
Some creator, Datto maybe, said lightfall sold well. but that it's poor quality might have doomed Destiny in the end. But I cant verify why he says lightfall sold well. Meanwhile TFS apparently, despite being highly reviewed, did not sell great.
It's just incredibly hard to break into it seems. a few utter giants, Valorant, CS, League, Apex, Fortnight etc. Incredibly difficult to get into that group.
It seems like Destiny is all but dead and I'm a bit sad. I would rather D2 have effectively faded away while we cleanse our pallets to come back refreshed for D3. OTOH some insider guy on twitter (lol) seems to imply maybe Destiny isn't dead yet. So we'll see.
1300+ for one studio is massive, and tbh probably makes sense for a studio working on a big GAAS and developing multiple other large projects at the same time.
No wonder ND dropped TLOU online. That was probably my most anticipated game, but it required ND to grow by 2 or 3x their current size if they wanted to continue making SP titles.
No wonder ND dropped TLOU online. That was probably my most anticipated game, but it required ND to grow by 2 or 3x their current size if they wanted to continue making SP titles.
So I am gonna continue the discussion from something that @MegaXZero said in the closed Bungie thread.
I also believe that Sony buying Bungie was partially a panic move due to ABK acquisition. Obviously there would be some talks beforehand (weeks, months), but these talks happen concurrently with other potential acquisition targets. Overpaying is one thing that can happen, but also on top of that allow them to act independent? This is a bad decision from Sony's part and something that Bungie bosses wanted, seeing a desperate Sony after the acquisition of Activision.
I also believe that Sony buying Bungie was partially a panic move due to ABK acquisition. Obviously there would be some talks beforehand (weeks, months), but these talks happen concurrently with other potential acquisition targets. Overpaying is one thing that can happen, but also on top of that allow them to act independent? This is a bad decision from Sony's part and something that Bungie bosses wanted, seeing a desperate Sony after the acquisition of Activision.
Eh, I don't really think it says enough particularly special.
They overstretched themselves and used Destiny money to fund other projects but didn't manage to turn that investment into tangible income streams fast enough.
Being reliant on a singular game is risky, so using the money to fund other projects is smart. But to me it looks like they simply didn't go about it in a smart way and well, overstretched themselves.
The strategy itself isn't bad, it's what Mihoyo did with Genshin, and now they have 3 extremely well selling live-service games ~4 years after that game released.
[UPDATE] Bungie Has Reportedly Canceled Destiny 3 'Payback' Following Layoffs
Bungie has reportedly canceled previously rumored Destiny 3 codenamed "Payback," according to Jeff Grubb.
destinybulletin.com
Destiny 2's Future Content Drops To Be Lighter And Smaller 'Content Packs' Instead Of Expansions, Insider Reveals
Bungie reportedly shifts Destiny 2 updates to "lighter" and "smaller" content packs instead of expansions, following staff layoffs.
destinybulletin.com
That is according to hearsay along w/them still thinking Marathon is 2025
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- #65
Sony’s Bungie Faces Reckoning After Mass Layoff
The creator of Halo and Destiny laid off more than 200 people this week including several top executives
www.bloomberg.com
Well the Activision trials revealed they had talked about re-acquiring them but were put off by the "high burn rate"
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It sounds like Payback was more of a Destiny spin-off than a Destiny 3.
Ehh.... even Mihoyo is facing the brunt there. In the end. GaaS is very resource consuming. From money to workforce to time. All those is simply limited so u will need to pick and choose. Trying to maintain all of them. It will be Sega mobile where from 2 big success Hortensia and Chain Chronicle. They expanded to like 7 mobile gaas and end up only having 1 left in the end.
Just a refresh that Bungie became independent from Microsoft already back in 2007. Not even the great minds such as Phil Spencer and the rest of the crew could foresee the future for the next decade and over.
Also, just like Oregano said:
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Yeah probably you are right, according to the rumor they didn't buy Bungie because the price (1 billion less than how much Sony paid) was too high for what Microsoft tought was their value, I don't know who did the call but for sure was the right one.
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Whats the source?
Unless its from an extremely reputable financial outlet, like Reuters, FT, Bloomberg etc , anyone claiming they know insider transactions/dealings of multi-billion dollar mergers is nonsensical.
Just a refresh that Bungie became independent from Microsoft already back in 2007. Not even the great minds such as Phil Spencer and the rest of the crew could foresee the future for the next decade and over.
Also, just like Oregano said:
I think I probably convoluted two separate events between the original split and the later decision to not pursue them.
It could well be that Bungie ballooned and lost control of itself long after the split, and perhaps even very late into or after their partnership with Activision. We know Destiny 1 was a mess of a game on the backend, for example.
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This has to be one of the worst studio purchase of all time, from day 1.
Between the exorbitant price to the lack of future prospect, it's getting ridiculous and honestly i don't see the light at the end of the tunnel
Anyway, that leads to the most important question ever... when is Nintendo's turn to buy Bungie?
Between the exorbitant price to the lack of future prospect, it's getting ridiculous and honestly i don't see the light at the end of the tunnel
Anyway, that leads to the most important question ever... when is Nintendo's turn to buy Bungie?
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I want to read more than just a two sentence tweet before jumping to conclusions. That is really just a vague statement without any real substance.
I've come up with a way I think Bungie could have saved Destiny. Or maybe an alternate timeline if you will.
They had to cut costs clearly, so somehow or other end up at about idk, 800 head count. Go leaner.
Never start Marathon.
All 800 just keep pumping out Destiny content.
Would it have worked? Ehh, quite possibly no. They mentioned a couple troubling things. That they were having issues attracting younger players, and that each expansion was selling less than the last. even when well reviewed like tfs. so, the game probably ran it's course after ten years (just realized, their ten year plan for destiny was right on the dot). Warframe shows it might have been possible, though.
i'm honestly a bit sad about it. but, also feel like the game ran its course. a lot of people really got into the game, though. and knew so much about it.
They had to cut costs clearly, so somehow or other end up at about idk, 800 head count. Go leaner.
Never start Marathon.
All 800 just keep pumping out Destiny content.
Would it have worked? Ehh, quite possibly no. They mentioned a couple troubling things. That they were having issues attracting younger players, and that each expansion was selling less than the last. even when well reviewed like tfs. so, the game probably ran it's course after ten years (just realized, their ten year plan for destiny was right on the dot). Warframe shows it might have been possible, though.
i'm honestly a bit sad about it. but, also feel like the game ran its course. a lot of people really got into the game, though. and knew so much about it.
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I hate tweets like that. You can read any preconceived opinion into it. I, for example, think Bungie is likely making a mistake by going for an extraction shooter. Is Marathon cooked because of that? I'm free to think so!
You have a whole website, man, write something instead of tweeting a word.
You have a whole website, man, write something instead of tweeting a word.