Most of Destiny team laid off, new Bungie leader steps down

Sony has confirmed layoffs at Bungie, and reports say that half of the studio--some 400 people--could be let go.

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Disaster strikes at Bungie today with major layoffs affecting its development teams. PlayStation studios head Hermen Hulst released a memo that revealed the extent of the layoffs. Most of the Destiny team is being let go, as well as groups at SIE that are technically outside of Bungie but assist with Destiny and Marathon. Even some of the Marathon group will be let go as Sony and Bungie drastically downsize the workforce.

"We have made the decision to reduce Bungie's workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members. There are also reductions across SIE teams that support Bungie's operations," Hulst said.

It's also been revealed that Bungie's new leader, Justin Truman, is leaving as well.

"Bungie studio head Justin Truman, who succeeded Pete Parsons last year, is stepping down," Schreier wrote on BlueSky.

The exact number of team layoffs has not been made public.

Hulst goes on to highlight why Bungie is getting downsized. Keep in mind that this is a memo sent to employees and is not meant to be a press release.

The main reason why this is happening is because of a significant $750 million impairment charge that was made to Bungie's assets; essentially, the studio had its asset value heavily reduced by such an amount, leading to a hefty charge that the studio may not have been able to actually comfortably absorb.

"This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here.

"Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio's long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy.

"We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio's resources with its current priorities and long-term goals."