Bungie Hit With Layoffs, Blames Destiny 2

Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie has confirmed that it will be laying off staff. Following its split from Microsoft and the Halo franchise, Bungie struck live-service gold with the original Destiny, successfully carrying that momentum into Destiny 2. Recent years have seen millions of Destiny 2 players abandon the game for new experiences, and the vast majority of them did not show up for Bungie’s latest release.

Instead of pushing forward with Destiny 3, Bungie instead shifted focus to sci-fi extraction shooter Marathon. Unfortunately, Marathon‘s player count numbers haven’t been all that spectacular, and that, combined with declining interest in Destiny 2, has left the company in dire straits. However, the recent confirmation that Bungie is laying off an unspecified number of employees made no mention of Marathon and instead lay the blame entirely at the feet of Destiny 2.

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Bungie Confirms Layoffs

Bungie’s official statement says that Destiny 2 “fell short of expectations these past several years,” and so it is not able to operate at its previous size. “While these changes are necessary to best position the studio now and for the future, that does not lessen the difficulty of this moment or the impact it has on those affected.” Bungie added, “Today, we wish to extend our gratitude and compassion to every member of the Bungie team who has been impacted and to those who remain.”

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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In Bungie’s message announcing the layoffs, it hinted at “future projects” that it has in development. What exactly those future projects are remains to be seen. We know that there are more big Marathon updates on the horizon, with the PvE Vault Breaker mode coming July 21 and Season 3 scheduled to start in September 2026, but we don’t know what other future projects Bungie is referring to. Unfortunately for Destiny fans, it’s unlikely that said future projects are Destiny games, whether that be Destiny 3 or something else entirely.

Bungie recently announced the shock decision to end Destiny 2 updates, meaning that there will be no more expansions released for the live-service game. Destiny 2 servers will remain online, but fans will have to be satisfied with the content that has already been released for the game. Destiny 2 fans rallied after the announcement and flooded the game’s servers in an attempt to convince Bungie and parent company Sony to reverse course by either continuing Destiny 2 development or making Destiny 3, but these efforts appear to have been in vain.

It’s a dark time for the gaming industry right now, with studios across the board suffering from significant layoffs. Bungie was once seemingly an untouchable titan in the industry, but the abandonment of Destiny 2 and Marathon failing to take off like many would have hoped leaves the company’s future in question. It’s possible Marathon‘s future updates will turn things around for the game, and it’s also possible that a future Bungie project will get the studio back on track, but that remains to be seen. Bungie fans will have to stay tuned for more information on what’s next for the company.