Bungie suffers round of layoffs that includes most of the Destiny team

Once again, Bungie is in the news for a restructuring. Sony has announced layoffs and a reorganization at Bungie, which will result in a workforce reduction that will affect «a significant number» of employees, including the majority of the Destiny team and some members of the Marathon team. Members of Sony Interactive Entertainment who support Bungie’s operations will also be affected. The number of terminated employees is unknown.

Hermen Hulst, head of the teams that make up PlayStation Studios, has signed a statement that could well serve for any other round of layoffs. The executive speaks of a painful decision that has been made after a long debate and much consideration. Hulst also explains that over the past few months and together with Bungie management, they have reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resources, and the team’s role within the PlayStation Studios strategy. Following this assessment, it was concluded that Bungie’s workforce needed to be reduced to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals.

This move comes two weeks after the release of the latest update for Destiny 2, a game as a service that has been languishing since the Light and Darkness saga ended in 2024 with the Final Form expansion. In a statementBungie acknowledges that «over the past few years Destiny 2 has fallen short of expectations.» The team comments that after the latest content update for Destiny 2 and with its future projects still in an early phase of development, it is not in a position to maintain the same staff, which is why it has carried out a round of layoffs.

Bungie assures that reducing the workforce is necessary so that the studio is in the best possible position now and for the future. Justin Truman, head of Bungie since August 2025, will leave his position, according to Jason Schreier. On the other hand, and returning to Hermen Hulst’s message, the executive comments that Marathon continues to be an important game to which they will continue to support.

Over the past few years, Bungie has experienced a lot of turbulence. In 2022 Sony bought the studio for $3.6 billion to promote games as a service and be more multiplatform. A year later Bungie suffered a first round of layoffs that affected around 100 employees, and shortly after the director of Destiny 2 left and the director of Marathon was replaced. In July 2024, Bungie terminated 220 employees representing 17% of the workforce and announced greater integration within the PlayStation Studios structure. The last shakeup within Bungie came in August 2025 with the departure of the director.

Bungie has lost 20% of its value since Sony’s purchase. The hole that the study has left in the Japanese company’s numbers is 769 million dollars.