In a recent internal town hall meeting, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons addressed the Monday layoffs that affected multiple departments, attributing them to the underperformance of Destiny 2 over the past year. Sources have confirmed that approximately 100 employees have been impacted by the layoffs.

Contrary to earlier speculation, Bungie took full responsibility for the layoffs and did not assign blame to parent company Sony. Parsons assured remaining employees that the company had retained "the right people" to continue working on Destiny 2.

According to IGN, The Final Shape, an upcoming expansion for Destiny 2, has been delayed until June 2024. Additionally, Bungie's other project, Marathon, which has been in development since 2019, has been internally delayed to 2025.

One of the significant reasons cited for the layoffs was the declining player sentiment towards Destiny 2. Employees had reportedly flagged this issue to the leadership in the months leading up to the layoffs, urging necessary changes to regain players' trust.

Some former employees pointed out that they were initially assured job security following Sony's acquisition of Bungie in 2022. A Sony quarterly report had mentioned allocating $1.2 billion of the $4 billion acquisition specifically for staff retention. However, several employees confirmed that the funds were distributed to fully vested employees over time and varied depending on discipline and seniority.

The layoffs also drew criticism from employees due to Bungie's recent completion of an expansive new headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. Some described it as a pricey upgrade and felt frustrated with the timing of the layoffs.

The exact number of those affected by the layoffs remains uncertain, as Bungie leadership has reportedly attempted to obscure the figures and departments impacted. Multiple sources have revealed that departments including community, art, engineering, recruiting, legal, audio, QA, creative studios, and IT have been affected across both the Destiny 2 and Marathon teams. Members of the company's diversity committee and accessibility club have also been impacted.

Impacted employees are set to receive a minimum of three months of severance pay and COBRA health benefits. However, other company benefits will be terminated immediately.

Several employees expressed their frustration, feeling that they were being punished for problems they had little influence over. The decisions leading to the company's financial struggles were seen as being beyond their control.

Furthermore, the dismissal of a noticeable number of employees from the QA team in the weeks leading up to the layoffs has also raised questions. Bungie's head of QA sent an email to staff stating that these departures were not layoffs and not related to cost-cutting measures.

Earlier reports had highlighted a toxic work culture at Bungie, but employees had noticed improvements in recent years. However, a lawsuit filed by a former HR manager against Bungie alleging wrongful termination for reporting potential racial bias demonstrates ongoing challenges within the company.

IGN has reached out to Bungie for comment on the recent layoffs.