According to testimonies from several former Bungie employees to GamesFile journalist Stephen Totilo, Sony paid too much to acquire the software house, with the studio making promises that were then not kept. They also claim that the sales of the Destiny 2 expansion The Final Form at launch were lower than those of Eclipse, despite it having a much more positive reception from critics and the public.
Let’s remember that Sony Interactive Entertainment made official the acquisition of Bungie at the end of January 2022 for a sum equal to 3.6 billion dollars. According to the agreements, the house of Destiny would have remained independent in terms of decision-making, creativity and management of the team. However, after the recent wave of layoffs and the admission of CEO Parsons that the studio’s accounts are in the red, rumors say that Sony has now revoked this independence partially or totally.
Bungie Misses Its Launch Targets for The Eclipse
“It still sold less than Eclipse,” the anonymous former employee told Totilo about Final Form’s launch numbers. “The finances are not working. Destiny is an incredibly expensive game to make.”
The Bungie logo
“I think Sony overpaid Bungie,” a source told Totilo. “I think Bungie promised things that they couldn’t deliver.”
According to three former Bungie employees, studio executives “overestimated their studio’s financial prospects to Sony and Wednesday’s cuts were necessary to stem the ongoing losses.” Other sources told Totilo that Bungie has failed to meet the targets it has promised Sony since the launch of Destiny 2: The Eclipse, despite the expansion having helped set a new Steam traffic record.
In short, the picture painted is that of a company that is anything but healthy. It is important to emphasize that the information above should be taken for what it is, that is, rumors whose veracity is impossible to verify. However, recent statements by CEO Pete Parsons about Bungie’s red accounts and the causes that led to the firing of 220 employees seem to confirm them.
