Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie was hit with large-scale layoffs last week. As Destiny 2’s final update dropped, the historic game studio saw the loss of 300 developers in a bid to cut costs under its PlayStation ownership.
While Bungie’s latest release, Marathon, has not sold particularly well, PlayStation is still supporting the game’s future. Amidst the layoffs, PlayStation’s Herman Holst claimed that the game “remains an important part of our portfolio” following the studio’s recent announcement of years of support.
Nevertheless, Bungie has suffered a monumental loss of talent. As half of the studio has been kicked out, Bungie has lost its entire cinematics team, developers who have stayed at the studio since the days of Halo: Combat Evolved and before, and decades of developmental knowledge.
Reacting to the layoffs on Twitter, Marathon UI lead Elliot Gray told fans that they are not giving up on marking Marathon the best game it could possibly be. Gray, alongside other employees, explained that the new extraction shooter will continue as they vow to continue improving and refining the game.
“i’m just gonna keep f***ing pushing to make this sh*t the best I can possibly make it until they either physically stop me or my body gives out,” he told fans. “No compromise, even in the face of armageddon.”
Senior LiveOps producer Marcus Schbert’s discussion on the subject was far more subdued. “Many people reached out, so I’ll just say that I’m still at Bungie,” they said. “I don’t take pride or relief in that statement. There were so many talented people laid off this past week and it genuinely hurts to see all these lives impacted. The Bungie I fell in love with was built by those people. That loss is real.”
Bruno Toledano, senior community manager across Destiny 2 and Marathon, added: “I’m still a Senior Community Manager. I’ll keep trying my best to represent and support our players.” Nevertheless, the loss of so many developers will be a huge detriment for the future of Bungie, Marathon and future projects included.
In a statement prior to layoffs, Destiny 2 community lead Dylan Gafner, aka DMG04, told fans that they couldn’t have done anything to change the outcome of Bungie’s recent layoffs. “You all have done more for this game and our studio than could ever be imagined, and no words can accurately depict how lucky we are to have shared these worlds with you,” they said. “Don’t blame yourselves or think you could have / should have done more. This is just the way it goes sometimes.”
This isn’t the first time that Bungie has suffered mass layoffs, either. In 2023, around 100 employees were laid off. In July 2024, 220 jobs were cut. Now, 300 jobs have been cut. Since 2023, 620 employees have been cut from Bungie, and some are expecting more layoffs in the future.
