Bungie, the famed video-game maker, has laid off an unspecified number of staff.
Bungie is famous within tech circles as the creator of the ultra-popular “Halo” series, as well as the massive shooter “Destiny” and its sequel (seen above). “Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” Bungie CEO Pete Parsons wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.”
Sony acquired Bungie in early 2022 for $3.6 billion. At the time, Bungie announced plans to go on a hiring spree with the money. “With [Sony’s] support, the most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision,” read Bungie’s corporate blog posting at the time. “If this speaks to you, and you want to help us put a dent in the universe, we are hiring across all disciplines for Destiny 2 and for all new worlds beyond.”
But things change, and Bungie’s layoffs have hit several teams, including QA, HR, and marketing, and more. The company isn’t the only one in the game-developer ecosystem suffering through cutbacks: at the beginning of October, Epic Games, maker of the mega-hit game “Fortnite” and the Unreal Engine used by many game developers and other tech professionals, announced plans to lay off 16 percent of its workforce. Telltale Games, BioWare, Embracer Group, and other studios have likewise cut positions.
Reasons for these layoffs vary; Epic Games, for example, stated a need to get costs under control. In the case of Bungie, delayed games may have contributed to the cutback decision.
Overall tech industry layoffs are up 50 percent year-over-year. The tech industry has experienced 224,503 layoffs over the past 10 months, according to an analysis of layoffs.fyi data by TechCrunch. No matter what your subindustry and specialization, it’s always a good idea to keep your resume up-to-date… just in case.
