Lead Bungie Staff Fear 'Total Sony Takeover' After Layoffs, Delays

I'll still say buying Bungie was a reactionary error, but I'll give Jim Ryan credit for this one, I thought they completely shilled out and Bungie's incompetent, complacent and downright unappreciative leadership had them dead to rights. Sad its come to this already, but good to see this was built in.

Oh no!

Anyway…

Maybe Bungie will have to…I dunno…actually produce worthwhile content!

I’m glad they’re getting a lot of knitting and cooking done, though. Very important for morale, that.

Naughty dog must be kicking themselves for letting Bungie block their game.

I'm mean there are consequences for not meeting goals. A company has to retail a certain level of profitability to function. Sony should have created an internal team like xdevs who specialize specifically on live service games, they could have head hunted talent across multiple success teams. Would have been a lot cheaper.

I think it was a waste of money when sony bought bungie, especially with no exclusive games. Perhaps this is a good thing if sony takes total control and we might get a decent single player exclusive game from them, or perhaps it will be playstation/ pc, but not xbox.

Could be a good thing if Sony takeover

Treating your current workers worse, and overworking them by not bringing back layoffs or hiring new people is going to have a detrimental impact.

That read like trying to save money is all on reducing the benefits of hourly employees.

I wonder what are the salaries of the leadership?

A takeover could be good, then they can focus on some actual playstation exclusives and leave destiny behind.

@get2sammyb At the very least, Sony should have a more hands-on approach to Bungie's operations. It's pretty clear that Bungie is floundering and maybe if they were more integrated into the PlayStation umbrella, there would be more opportunity for cross-studio support. This whole situation wreaks of Xbox's failed approach to studio "management."

@OmegaStriver "Beatings will continue until moral improves."

Soul-crushing for things we never get at work. Annual compensation adjustment! wow

There were some Activision studios helping with destiny development I believe. With Bungie x Sony and Activision x Xbox, I wonder what happens with something like that. Maybe it put a strain on Bungie.

But seriously don’t sell to Sony if you don’t want them to take over.

Don't bite the hand that feeds, Bungie. You're lucky you got compensation to keep staff paid by Sony.

Funny how it's worded as a "threat" by Sony, if they can't meet targets of a contract that they signed then it's on them, it is not Sony's fault that they had to cut jobs but their own incompetence.

@dskatter It may sound silly, but when you lose a benefit, of any kind, it hurts company morale. Not so much because of the benefits themselves, but because it leads to the fear of "what's next?"

I think Sony has shown they can manage studios very well.

They really should dissolve the higher ups at Bungie, reducing costs and clearly bad decision making over the last 10 years, and let the talented developers do their job like other Sony first party studios.

I see some are saying that this would be good and hopes that this means exclusive PlayStation content, but I am sure Bungie only sold to Sony with the understanding that Bungie would remain independent.

If Sony does what Bungie fears, that is the very definition of corporate take-over. So, I can definitely understand why they would be upset - bad performance or not.

These statements absolutely reek of passing the buck and fear mongering. They have failed their own staff, it is their fault. It sounds like the current leadership is the exact thing that is wrong with the company and nothing more.

Everything I read that comes out from them makes them seem like they are actually a bunch of con artists, and they are now in fight or flight mode. Didn't bungie moan a lot about MS too?

If sony was in charge the thing they did last week with their monetization would have never happened lol.

Sucks that people lost their jobs but if this auto destruction was needed for they to understand their reality so be it. I bet the people who "fear" this are the guys with a secured job and not the people who actually work the games with their hands.

I still can't see why Sony bought them, their games are staying multiplatform and their live service expertise can't be that great of their losing money and staff. You can't say this purchase has been worth the money. If Sony just wanted a live service veteran then surely there's cheaper options around like Hi-Rez (Smite and Paladins) or Digital Extremes (Warframe), or pay double the price and got Valve (Dota and Counterstrike).

@RicebinBernacky I’m sure the cooking and knitting classes were absolutely essential in bolstering their spirits on a daily basis.

@GamingFan4Lyf It looks like it was written into the agreement that Sony had the right to do it if certain targets weren't met, which Bungie entered in to knowing this was the case. The consequences could be far worse for them if they were still independent.
It's not an ideal situation, but surely it's better than the alternative.

I can't really blame Sony if it would come to this. To say Bungie has been struggling is an understatement. Destiny is limping along, the layoffs, missing financial targets by a mile, interest in Marathon seems lukewarm at best...

It's always easy to view the big corporation as the bad guy but perhaps Sony taking a more hands-on approach might be just what the doctor ordered. It's not like the current Bungie leadership has knocked it out of the park.

"Keep its last vestige of freedom" - gimmie a break, they agreed to this when the agreed to get bought, don't whine about doing a bad job and getting ***** by a contract that nobody forced you to sign except yourself when a huge stack of money was sitting in front of you.

Maybe make an actual product or something? Terrible purchase and Bungie does need new management instead of them worrying so much about pronouns on twitter

@GamingFan4Lyf None of us have seen the contract but this makes it seem like this was in whatever contract both parties signed, which means if they paid their lawyers then they knew about it, they probably just didn't think it would happen. Now it might happen and they are scared.

Shockingly, after not doing any work but knitting and rehashing old content, the remaining bungie staff are no longer afforded huge wages + huge bonuses and knitting courses and not only that there will be an expectation to actually do some work.

Perhaps most worryingly, no-one has created a go fund me on this, because "Jaden Raymond already did that".

Nothing to add really that hasn't be said.

Tricky one isn't it - they have employee benefits that sound nonsensically good to most working adults (in or outside of a cost of living crisis).

Having said that, a lot of it comes from massive success across many, many years.

Coming back down to earth.

And these were the goofs who blocked the release of Factions 2? Maybe that decision needs to be re-evaluated

There are lot of people here applauding the idea of a total Sony takeover who would have slammed Microsoft in the same situation.

Other another note, I really don't see what made this purchase worth all those billions in the first place. What have Sony actually got for their money?

@__jamiie I’m not applauding a Sony takeover at all.

I’m showing a complete lack of sympathy for a company that seems to be making all the wrong decisions and then expecting bad things to not happen as a result.

If freedom was a primary concern, why did you sell your independence?

I'm finding it very difficult to have any sympathy for Bungie

@__jamiie Because most don't understand the point in paying $3 billion for a company and not having some say in what goes on in said company.

Too me, they haven't made anything good, since Halo 2 (Halo 3 was a disappointment).

Well, yes. What did they think was going to happen?

Sony bought it, and we all know a business like that will absolutely replace the people working there if they don't meet sales/revenue expectations.

It sucks but that's business.

Karma for making fractions get axed

And this is the company that Naughty Dog cancelled the TLOU multiplayer game for? *****. That. *****. Release the game.

Its a fact SIE manage the pipeline of studios extremely well, Bungie would benefit from a Sony takeover. It sounds like a socialist, commie paradise currently😅 gift cards for every employees birthday, I mean huh?

Maybe Naughty Dog can access their latest content to see if it is quality.

@__jamiie Yeah Xbox better keep Bobby Kotick or they'll get slammed for replacing him. 👍🏻

Good. Either they are part of Playstation or they arnt. You cant be having different management structures from my perspective or you end up focussing on different goals and having different priorities. And it leads to a lack of coordination.

What has Bungie done to be in a position to dictate to naughty dog what they can and cant release for example, when ND can point to years of evidence showing they know how to develop successful products. That just breeds resentment that would be less likely to happen under a single management structure.

For my book allowing bethesda to have autonomy rather than being brought fully in house by Microsoft is a mistake, and it will be the same with Activision

Sony dont want to be dealing with that model surely. Keep it simple and aligned to what has brought them years of success. And if Bungie dont like it they should never have sold to Sony (and Sony made a mistake purchasing them)

Boy Sonys whole investment so far into live service seems like a joke.

What a terrible acquisition this turned out to be. Couldn’t believe at the time the amount sony paid and wonder if it was more a knee jerk reaction to MS’s acquisitions.

@AdamNovice in the same boat here. Bungie has been screwing around far far too much even before the acquisition. If this happens it’s a bed they made, but it sucks the developers will get hurt so much when management has been responsible for the BS.

@Rob_230 I used an analogy when talking to a friend a few weeks ago about bungie being the industry’s serial dater. When someone jumps from one abusive relationship to another, instead of figuring their stuff out, eventually it ends poorly. Bungie has been acting like this for too long, using acquisitions as a means to get investments and then, either knowingly or unknowingly, sabotaging the arrangement. Not surprised it might come to this.

@dskatter I agree. I don't see what they have spent so much on.

"morale-boosting events like cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly." Really? What is this a Home economics class or a game studio.

Sony ruling with an iron fist

@MrMagic What a stupid, off topic comment.

@Pink_Floyd What, you didn’t know knitting and cooking classes were integral to the Bungie culture?

Off topic? Except it's a perfectly reasonable reply to what you said.

@__jamiie - There are lot of people here applauding the idea of a total Sony takeover who would have slammed Microsoft in the same situation.

Maybe I'm wrong but I didn't see anyone slamming them when they announced they were replacing Bobby, did you?

@__jamiie That's because Sony's management track record is much better than MS. But I think even then it would be warranted. If Bethesda for example started hemorrhaging talent like this MS would be well within their rights to step in.

I think the sentiment is more of Bungie failing and NEEDING to be taken over.

Still the biggest waste of money in corporate history. Bungie is .. just worthless as game developer. It always was. Except the beginning with Myth and Nyth 2 if course

@MrMagic Bobby Kotick has nothing to do with this story at all so why are you bringing him up? Activision Blizzard King is not a studio/publisher that is missing its agreed targets so why are you bringing them up.

The only similarity is they're companies that have been sold for billions. In that case, why not mention Bethesda?

Because you wanted to use Kotick's name as some kind of dig.

@__jamiie Microsoft had nothing to do with this story either but you couldn't help yourself. You can't have it both ways and it wasn't a dig it was just a counter to your whinging.

Easy seeing alot of commentors are Americans. I work in the tech sector in the UK, and most companies here have similar if not better benifits than bungie were offering. Add private healthcare, bumper pension and 25-30 days leave to that too

It’s just business; how the real world works. I never cease to be amazed at how whiny employees from this sector can be.

Are these kind of incentives widespread in the private sector? I've always been in the public sector (Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal and then the Police), and so never once saw any sort of rewards for simply doing my job. It seems very odd to me that people get or expect anything more beyond being paid a monthly salary. Different world, I guess... 🤔

They got paid, so let Sony takeover. It's theirs anyway. Also it doesn't help with the recent bad decisions.

I don’t wanna be mean, but these people sound like buffoons. what do you think be happening if bungie revenues collapsed without a parent Company to pick up the bill it wouldn’t be cake parties and knitting classes every ***** day.
I used to be an indifferent about the bungie acquisition, but it’s starting to look like it’s gonna be a $3 billion write off.

Roy Keane “that’s your job!”

"...higher-ups within the studio have hinted the shared power it enjoys with Sony following last year's acquisition may be taken away if financial targets continue to be missed."

"...Sony holds the right to dissolve the current board structure and take complete control of the company."

These two quotes stick out to me the most in this article cause it sounds like the bosses at Bungie are scared that Sony may toss them out and take control of things to help move stuff along at a more efficient rate, and the bosses are taking it out on the regular employees to save themselves.

@RicebinBernacky I understand loosing benefits is not good but things like knitting and cooking is not really needed. Things like good benefits and salaries sounds more important. I'm more surprised that they are surprised that after selling to Sony and not bringing out anything special so far will be bad for them.

Whenever there's Bungie news is usually something negative and I don't expect that to change. I actually think it would be good to have a shake up of the higher ups in Bungie as that company is severely mismanaged.

That said I wish I could go back in time and somehow stop this horrible acquisition, I know Sony got them to lead their live service slate but it looks like they can't even find their own asses

Bungie is a really weird company.

First, they get bought out from MS then they manage to buy themselves back to get creative freedom then Sony buy them.

It strikes me as a leadership that doesn't know what it wants and incredibly, Sony seemingly let Bungie direct their live service drive based on their work with Destiny.

Madness.

Bungie are clueless and have been milking destiny 2 and releasing nothing else since 2017. I say let Sony take over and change things

@dskatter @Pink_Floyd You two don't seem to be big knitting fans.

@UltimateOtaku91 "pay double the price and got Valve (Dota and Counterstrike)."

More like pay quadruple the price. Valve is a private company, and if they was open for sale... You would have everyone and their mom bidding on them. You're not getting Valve ( owner of steam ) for less than 20 billion

@solocapers Don't forget the whole Activation deal...

Funny thing is bungie never did anything good without being controlled and put in place by one of the big daddy's. So I'd say this would be a good thing.

If present performance is without Sony’s guidance, it sounds like they require Sony’s guidance.

@AverageGamer I searched and they're valued at 7.7 billion but yes you're correct everyone would be bidding for them although anyone with a PC storefront already like Microsoft and Epic would struggle legally to get them as they already own massive PC storefronts and would be seen as monopolising that market.

Maybe Sony should ask Insomniac to analysis Bungie and give them a nudge in the right direction.

Maybe even create a unit that specialises in meaningful work culture and whatnot. As well as one that might basically say: Would our customers be happy with this product or feature and does it add meaningfully to the user experience. Can be a double edge sword too, I suppose.

@UltimateOtaku91 Them being valued at 7.7 billion mean nothing. They can ask for vastly more... Do you think Bungie and Minecraft was valued at 3-4 billion.

There is legal way around the whole store front thing. Microsoft has enough smart lawyers. But they definitely aren't massive PC storefront. They probably count for like 4-10% of the PC storefront market... TBH... Both would probably drop their store if they own steam.

But you also have companies like Embracer group, Tencent, Take-Two who would be willing to outbid Sony for Valve.

@Fiendish-Beaver Somewhat. It depends on the size of the company and the industry. The Tech industry especially when talking about FAANG has some crazy incentives. This is why I feel the rising cost of games isn't just the game budget increasing. But the massive cost of employee benefits and incentives. Who going to pay for the fancy offices and lobster dinner every 4th Tuesday out of the month. These incentives are how these companies are able to trick college graduates into working for them... But it also why the finding entry level job are so hard. You don't just want any college graduate. You want the best of the best.

One company I'm trying to apply to has a sabbatical. Every five years you are eligible for four weeks of paid time off. If you choose to spend your sabbatical in a country you've never been to before, the company will help fund the trip for you and a guest.

This is amazing. Also they need to produce something and hit targets. Didn’t have to agree to them if they didn’t want to be bought. Seems they bit off more than they can chew. Besides insomniac though these PS studios produce games at a glacial clip.

what was the alternative? bungie would have been shut down by now if not for sony keeping things afloat. if bungie cannot run its studio independently and show results, why the hell would sony not intervene? sony will not sit there and watch bungie flush its money down the toilet. this sounds quite hyperbolic. i don't think bungie would have partnered with sony in the first place if they were "fearful" of the possibility of control at some point down the line. if anything, sony is likely regretting its purchase at this point. bungie has clearly lost its way. it would be for the best that sony lays off 50% of the staff and replaces them with capable developers and those who can properly lead the teams. this will be a process that could take a few years before the studio is in a state capable of putting out quality content.

It's crazy how so many here are in full support of Sony taking complete control of an independent studio, people losing their jobs and employee's losing benefits because let's work them into the ground and give them as little as possible for doing it 🤦🤦🤦

Without a doubt though I feel like this was the plan from the start. Anything to get in charge and throw bungie at the Massive line up of live service trash PlayStation wants to churn out....

All those extra things make it seems like there being coddled a lot

@Porco bungie absolutely wouldn't have closed by now if hadn't brought them.....

@Porco "Bungie would have been shut down by now if not for Sony keeping things afloat."

I wouldn't go that far, they had plenty of investor prior to Sony purchase. They were getting money from companies like NetEase.

Bungie wasent to worried about it when they was getting their pockets lined from being bought. Maybe one day independent studios will stop selling out. Being bought means that very thing they own you and your business and can do whatever they won't with it. Bungie knowing this and what it took to get out of Microsoft and Activision seen it fit to give it a 3rd try after being screwed so many times. Don't learn from your mistakes then your doom to repeat them.

Also a studio banking on one game franchise to keep them a float for a decade is not good strategy to me nor sound business practice. They should have worked on other projects besides using their whole studio for destiny only. Yes I know they got a new ip for 2025 but come on they should had atleast 4 or 5 games during the amount of time of destiny 1 and 2.. You only can milk the cow so much. You can show all these other games from other company's next to a Destiny expansion pack and it's going to slip through and people are going to go after the whole new games.

Thankfully sounds like most people are reading the article and not just the headline. Bungie leadership suck at their jobs, leading them to be afraid of a Sony take over.

The higher ups at Bungie are terrified they're going to lose their overpaid, cushy jobs if Sony comes in and gets rid of their parasitic asses. So, they're firing scores of employees and cutting multiple benefits just to cling on to their moneyed positions as long as possible. A tale as old as time for scum at the top.

@Stickleman you might be right, but why then did bungie partner with sony? it is clear that their finacials have been quite poor for a while now. after their departure from activision (who was paying most of their development costs prior) it is unknown just how dire things would have been for bungie without sony's support. if not outright shut down, perhaps bungie would be a fraction of its size and in true panic mode if they were independent of sony. let's just say they would be in trouble.

@AverageGamer hard to say for sure, but bungie did seek financial assistance from sony for a reason. if they were sustainable and doing well for themselves, they would have remained independent afterall. let's just agree that they would be far worse off without sony than on their own.

I'm probably just being cynical, but you do have to wonder whether Sony set the financial bar so high that there was no way that Bungie could meet the requirements and thus Bungie were always destined to fall under Sony's full control. A cunning play, if you will... 😉

Again irresponsible people pretending as victims. Oh God it's always the case

So we might get a case where Sony takes over, the people that wanted that freedom will leave, and Sony will be left holding multiplayer FPS IPs that they don't know what to do with. Sounds like a crappy situation. Hopefully they can meet their targets.

Wasn't the whole purpose to shore up their lack of multiplayer/live service knowledge? If Bungie blows up they will be back at square one. Embracer level screw up of an acquisition.

@RainbowGazelle you speak the truth ! They are a lazy game developer for sure as I said 2 franchise in 20 years come on man.

Human nature at its finest.

As soon as a studio secures the financial stability that comes with sealing an M&A deal, the basic incentive to work one's ass off goes away.

This "will remain independent" kind of promise is an obvious trap. One that caught the likes of Bethesda and now Bungie.

But Microsoft and Sony have figured that one out. Better late than never. You want to remain independent, don't sell out.

@Porco Partnering with Sony isn’t just about financial assistance. Bungie has goals beyond games. Bungie’s plans was to continue to broadening its properties to movies, television, and other media. Areas where Sony have experiencing and studio/staff already willing to help. It would have been a nightmare for Bungie to work with movies and television studios to achieve what they wanted…

I mean look at Microsoft effort at getting movie and shows made of their IP. We’ve been wanting a massive budget halo movie/show since Bungie worked on the franchise… and the best we’ve gotten was the Halo tv show 🤮

So layoff aren't actually neccessary, they are just happening because the bosses fear Sony might step and sack them. Talk about sacrificing people for own benefit. I hope bungie bosses can sleep at night because I know I couldn't.

@Art_Vandelay Don't think Bethesda had a choice, the Trump family was either going to appoint someone they didn't like to the board or sale their share on the open market.

Maybe make some new games rather than milking destiny 2? All we got are cool new cg for just another live service games on ps5 hype trailer back then 😕

@get2sammyb Yeah. Bungie was always at it's best when they have knife to their necks.
Halo 2
Destiny The Taken King
Destiny 2 Forsaken
and now.

But there is no "winner" in this situation. Contrary to popular belief, Sony "taking over" Bungie will not be a win, because Sony don't have a clue how to run live service studio. That's why they bought them in the first place. And let's not pretend that Bungie are clueless since they are running one live service game for 10 years.

Sony spent 3,6 billion, so if Bungie is not successful, they effectively "blew" the money. They will save part of 1 billion retention bonuses though. And if they will take over Bungie, it could lead to many devs wanted to go out, since culture of Bungie is based on "***** all of them, we are Bungie" attitude. And it's not like they will have a problem getting a jobs since Seattle is pretty competitive place in terms of gaming studios.

@Art_Vandelay Lol. Bethesda was never promised "freedom." Just that they will keep operational structure.

@UltimateOtaku91 hirez doing a resistance universe thing would be cool.

bungie already lost the point of making games.
they focus on other thinks that have nothind to do with games.

I can see Sony taking Bungie and using the talent to build an actual COD competitor for when the 10 year period is up.

Maybe if Sony takes control and gets rid of the management that are out to keep their high paid jobs over helping employees, then actual good content will start to flow from Bungie again. Perhaps the people that left Bungie or got sacked will see that they have a chance to go back to them if Sony has full control. If, like people are saying, Sony wouldn’t know how to run a live service studio, get people in that do and want it to be successful. There has been so much talk over the last while that employees have been begging management to listen to them about implementing things into Destiny that will help get their thunder back, but management didn’t want to know anything about that. They just want to keep money rolling in, which won’t last too long in the current environment. I played a lot of Destiny 2 before lightfall came out and since then, I have hardly touched the game. It’s just getting worse and worse with each season. New blood is needed, or old blood that actually care what they put into the game. One good thing that will come out of this is perhaps the Centre of excellence will be a thing of the past, because let’s face it, after all this utterly negative news from Bungie, there is no way that any of the other 1st party developers are going to take what Bungie says about their own product with any kind of seriousness. Makes me say again that I imagine Factions 2 was looking a hellova lot better than we were all led to believe. If Bungie don’t mind sacking people that have given so much to try and keep Destiny successful, then they would not worry about trying to close down a product from a rival company because they worry about it taken the thunder away from them!

That last statement made by one of their chief officers about lay-offs being a "lever" they will use again is saddening. When your livelihood is being threatened by your bosses due to a contract agreement you had no say in and has been poorly handled by said bosses, then you need to have a back-up plan ready. Bungie's C-suite doesn't seem to care about their workers and Sony is handling this professionally and dispassionately, as they should.
This was seen from the beginning of the acquisition and it has finally reached its expected outcome. I do agree with a lot of the commenters here that Bungie needs more IPs instead of Destiny for the past 10ish years, and that's on them. WE all need to be aware of what's going on in our industries and jobs and Bungie bosses and employees are no different. Hopefully they pull themselves back up by the bootstraps because I am excited to see what they do with Marathon.

I wonder if bungie regrets joining PlayStation. This seems to be history repeating itself in some ways, like…they left Microsoft for independence and now they’re about to lose control to Sony. Kinda sad.

@Godot25 You might have missed it, but both Bethesda and Bungie were promised some level of independence when these deals were announced. Just about enough to make them complacent.

Then Microsoft has reportedly pulled the reins after the Red Fall debacle, and now we get this new report on Bungie.

We went From all hail to a hostage situation