Fueling deep concern among fans of the Destiny series, Sony has announced the layoff of 220 Bungie employees.
According to current studio employees and those who were involved in the layoffs, the decision appears to have been necessary due to poor internal management by CEO Pete Parsons.
In a Bungie blog post, Parsons announced that 17% of Bungie’s workforce would be cut due to “financial issues.” Many of the laid-off employees (along with others in the video game industry) took to social media to share their scathing criticism of Bungie’s leadership, with many even calling for Parsons’ resignation.
Many employees called the layoffs unexpected, as internal communications seemed to suggest a calm state of affairs. One music designer, for example, revealed that he was reassured that his role was still needed at the studio, only to be fired today. “There’s nothing I could have done to not have been fired,” he wrote. Another employee shared that she was let go just a month after being promoted.
Meanwhile, Bungie employees who were not affected by the decisions have also posted in support of their former colleagues, calling the firings “inexcusable.” My name is Byf, one of the most popular Destiny 2 YouTubers, said Bungie had been “disregardful of the studio, its employees, and its franchises. The problem is clear. Bad leadership. This needs to change,” he wrote. Others, including former Bungie employees, have called for Parsons to take a pay cut or resign.
Things don’t seem to be going well among Bungie’s studios, and apparently Sony has decided to intervene by placing Hermen Hulst as the new leader of the studio and moving closer to an increasingly complete control of the American company acquired in January 2022 for 3.6 billion dollars.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Nintendo Video Game – Italian Edition – Version is one of the best-selling games today.
