Bungie's independence is getting 'lighter' as PlayStation Studios slowly absorbs the studio

Bungie's independence is ebbing away and the Destiny developer will eventually become part of PlayStation Studios.

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In a recent Q1'25 earnings stream, Sony CFO Lin Tao confirmed that Bungie will eventually be integrated into PlayStation Studios.

Bungie's internal independence is "getting lighter," Tao says, with Sony now controlling more and more of the decision-making. The developer's upcoming extraction shooter Marathon is still scheduled to release this fiscal year. This take-over is actually part of Bungie's acquisition contract; if Bungie fails to meet specific financial earnings targets, then Sony would dissolve Bungie's board of directors and take full control over Bungie's operations.

"As you have said, the leaders...at the time of acquisition, we were offering a very independent environment. Though that was one way of thinking. However, thereafter we have gone through structural reform as we have announced last year, so this type of independence is getting lighter.

"Bungie is shifting to a role which is becoming more of a part of PlayStation Studios, and integration is also proceeding. So long-term, you can see this as an ongoing process. The direction is to become part of PlayStation Studios."

The news comes after Bungie reportedly missed revenue targets by a longshot, at least for a period of time. In late 2023, it was revealed that Destiny 2 had missed Bungie's internal revenue targets by over 50%, which triggered layoffs at the company.

After this, Bungie was also faced with a stolen art controversy and its latest live game, Marathon, failed an internal review, facilitating a potentially costly delay.