Maybe making one Halo game after another for Microsoft wasn’t such a bad idea after all?
As part of feature posted this week about how being a Bungie developer is “soul-crushing” nowadays, IGN has reported that Sony is preparing a full takeover of the studio in the event that it’s unable to improve its financials, which, apparently, aren’t great based on recent events that include layoffs, hiring freezes, and elimination of holiday bonuses:
If Bungie falls short of certain financial thresholds by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company. And with Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape delayed into the next fiscal year and Bungie still investing heavily on Marathon, many employees understand that Bungie is struggling to meet the necessary targets to keep its last vestige of freedom.
“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN, indicating that Bungie’s fate could be heavily determined by the new expansion, which is now releasing on June 4, 2024, following a delay that the studio said was warranted for an “even bigger and bolder vision.”
“…the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t, we’re definitely looking at more layoffs,” that same source added.
Bungie, of course, was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in January 2022, but according to statements that PlayStation shared at the time, the studio was supposed to retain most of its freedom, allowed to operate independently and even publish its own games.
The good old days of Bungie appear to be drawing to a close, though, as its employees make it sound like it’s hell to work there now:
According to those still with the company, employee frustration and sadness in the days and weeks following the layoffs was met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management. Several people we spoke to told us that leaders had reiterated, across multiple meetings, that they couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be more layoffs, with two specifically confirming previous reports that chief people officer Holly Barbacovi outright stating that layoffs were a “lever” the company would pull again.
Here’s a description for the campaign mode that Destiny 2 players will find in The Final Shape, which is coming in June 4, 2024, for $49.99:
In Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Guardians will confront oblivion in the form of their ultimate adversary –The Witness – alongside their iconic Vanguard companions: Ikora Rey, Commander Zavala, and the mysteriously returned Cayde-6. Players will embark on a perilous journey of remembrance and discovery into the heart of the Traveler, rally the Vanguard, and end the War of Light and Darkness. The story of this final confrontation will be told throughout the course of The Final Shape’s campaign, as well as in the new raid that will launch in March 2024.
As noted above, Bungie is also working on a new installment of Marathon, but unlike the classic games, the new one will be a PvP extraction shooter:
…a massive ghost ship hangs in low orbit over a lost colony on tau ceti iv. the 30,000 souls who call this place home have disappeared without a trace. strange signals hint at mysterious artifacts, long-dormant ai, and troves of untold riches. you are a runner, venturing into the unknown in a fight for fame… and infamy. who among you will write their names across the stars?