Bungie in crisis as Sony tightens its grip and Marathon director replaced | 30708V0 | 2024-03-20 21:08:01
New studies suggests additional upheaval at Destiny 2 maker Bungie, with employees fearing extra job layoffs and an entire Sony takeover.
Regardless of all of the current job cuts at PlayStation, and across the business, Bungie hasn't been affected, in large part because it already suffered 100 job cuts final yr. But new rumours recommend that the Destiny 2 developer continues to be dealing with appreciable turmoil.
Reviews on the finish of final yr instructed that morale had turn into 'soul crushing' and that employees feared a full takeover by owner Sony, because of decrease than anticipated player numbers and disappointing pre-orders for upcoming enlargement The Ultimate Form.
Now, new rumours recommend the cancellation of beforehand unannounced games, a change in director for the Marathon reboot, and the expectation that senior employees will depart the corporate in droves in 2026 – once they get their ultimate cost referring to the unique Sony buyout of the studio.
Sony initially bought Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, however outstanding Future 2 content material creator Aztecross claims to have inside info that means Sony, notably executives in Japan, contemplate it to have been a 'failed investment'.
The unique concept was not simply to nurture Future, including plans for brand spanking new multimedia tasks, however to make use of Bungie's experience to help with Sony's wider plans for stay service video games at a number of of its other studios.
Bungie was supposedly responsibly for advising a rethink for The Last Of Us Online, which was subsequently cancelled, but up to now Sony's plans to release 10 reside service games by 2026 haven't resulted in a single new launch (Helldivers 2 is by an exterior studio and it's not recognized that Bungie had any involvement with it).
Aztecross claims that Sony is 'very upset' with Bungie leadership, who have apparently not been capable of efficiently advise different Sony groups and have missed all their income targets since Lightfall.
A report on IGN corroborates some points of this story, particularly when it comes to dissatisfaction with senior leadership.
It's claimed that a major shake-up is at present occurring with the reboot of Marathon, which was announced in 2022 as an extraction-based shooter (despite the Mac initially being a primarily single-player recreation).
Although never previously announced, it's now confirmed that veteran Bungie designer Christopher Barett has been replaced as director by former Valorant director Joe Ziegler, who left Riot Video games in 2022.
Bungie's subsequent launch will probably be Future 2 enlargement The Last Form, which would be the final chapter within the current storyline, and employees apparently worry that there can be one other major round of layoffs after it launches on June four.
'Something might want to occur to curb prices until The Ultimate Shape does so properly to cowl the hole and other people can move to Marathon,' claims one inside supply.
Based on IGN, two new tasks have already been cancelled just lately, together with a MOBA-like title codenamed Gummy Bears and a brand new IP named Matter – which was first leaked as long ago as 2018.
It was supposedly cancelled in 2020, in favour of an analogous undertaking, however that too has also now been cancelled.
There's at present no release date for Marathon but the IGN sources claim that the present plan is to get it finished earlier than the summer time of 2026 and the anticipated exodus of senior stuff.
At that time a completely new management regime is predicted, very probably one imposed by Sony, as they take direct control of the studio.
All of it paints a grim image for the studio, when it comes to jobs and the future of Destiny and Bungie's different games.
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<p> <span class="mor-link" data-track-module="mor-link_article"> MORE : <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2024/01/31/destiny-2-director-leaving-bungie-mass-effect-crossover-announced-20203262/?ico=more_text_links" class="" >Destiny 2 game director leaving Bungie as Mass Effect crossover announced</a> </span> </p> <p> <span class="mor-link" data-track-module="mor-link_article"> MORE : <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/06/27/microsoft-wanted-to-buy-sega-bungie-and-io-before-activision-blizzard-19020661/?ico=more_text_links" class="" >Microsoft wanted to buy Sega, Bungie and Io Interactive before Activision Blizzard</a> </span> </p> <p> <span class="mor-link" data-track-module="mor-link_article"> MORE : <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/25/bungie-announce-new-marathon-game-but-its-multiplayer-only-18841251/?ico=more_text_links" class="" >Bungie announce new Marathon game but it's multiplayer only</a> </span> </p> Comply with Metro Gaming on& Twitter& and e-mail us at& gamecentral@metro.co.uk
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