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NEW: Bungie laid off ~8% of staff Monday, or around 100 people, sources tell Bloomberg. Two weeks ago, staff were told they were projected to miss revenue targets by 45%. Employees were galvanized to get things on track... then came surprise layoffs
Well the bloomberg article says that they are ”projected to miss revenue targets”. So revenue could be up for all we know. Probably not down 45% anyways. But they are probably in a tight spot cash flow wise if they counted on so much more revenue.45% REVENUE DROP????
I edited this comment like immediately after I posted it, I noticed how I phrased it wrong and tried to change it. Honestly surprised it didn't update quick enough. Anyways yeah I get what you're saying and I 100% agree. Either way, the Destiny playerbase really did vote with their wallets and all it did was make Bungie let go of their senior staff to make up the difference. Absolutely evil company. This is some Activision Blizzard tier stuff.Well the bloomberg article says that they are ”projected to miss revenue targets”. So revenue could be up for all we know. Probably not down 45% anyways. But they are probably in a tight spot cash flow wise if they counted on so much more revenue.
If think we increasingly see that GaaS is a very fragile business model, contrary to the belief that made it popular.
More info from Paul Tassi. Sounds like this was a Bungie management decision, not Sony.
Destiny is fucking awful rn, apparentlyMissing targets by 45%? How the fuck did they fumble that hard? I can't imagine being the people who lost their jobs over at Naughty Dog because Bungie told them their live service game sucked when Bungie's own game is dying like this.
Sony had given Bungie 2 billion so they wouldn't have to do layoffs fairly recently. It's all on BungleIn reality, it was likely Bungie and Sony. It was just Bungie that picked which people to let go
[Citation Needed]Sony had given Bungie 2 billion so they wouldn't have to do layoffs fairly recently. It's all on Bungle
This ascribes a degree of micromanagement on Sony's part that I find to be unrealistic and baseless. All of the information we're receiving indicates that the layoffs are wholly Bungie's own failings rather than being caused by Sony mandating specific actions.[Citation Needed]
A budget allocation like that doesn't mean at all that Sony and Bungie weren't talking about how to plan layoffs behind closed doors.
My dude, when I was laid off, this level of micromanagement was absolutely used.This ascribes a degree of micromanagement on Sony's part that I find to be unrealistic and baseless. All of the information we're receiving indicates that the layoffs are wholly Bungie's own failings rather than being caused by Sony mandating specific actions.
I don't think bringing personal anecdotes is a good idea unless there's an concrete correlation to what's going on at Bungie.My dude, when I was laid off, this level of micromanagement was absolutely used.
I don't think it can be ruled out just out of hand, either.I don't think bringing personal anecdotes is a good idea unless there's an concrete correlation to what's going on at Bungie.
I'm ruling it out entirely because it's not based on anything that's been reported. Sony's involvement in the matter is entirely speculative, and all of the information provided thus far indicates that the fault lies primarily on Bungie's management.I don't think it can be ruled out just out of hand, either.
Sony wasn't caught with their pants down by this. They knew what was happening and I see no reason to doubt their involvement.
Bungie is a Sony subsidiary. Again, why would Sony not be involved?I'm ruling it out entirely because it's not based on anything that's been reported. Sony's involvement in the matter is entirely speculative, and all of the information provided thus far indicates that the fault lies primarily on Bungie's management.
The shares are unvested so nothing has been stolen. I see that the general read is that this is what the employees got as payment for the sale of Bungie, and that they're being stolen from, but vesting is for retention deals that are on top of a deal so the talent doesn't just leave after the sale. That can be ended early if it is no longer mutually beneficial. Vesting is meant to retain employees the employer actually wants to retain. Not that it’ll make anyone happier but just thought I’d explain this.wow so this is just bungie higher ups stealing shares from the people who do the actual work? actually disgusting. i'll be sure to steer clear of all projects of theirs for the foreseeable future, not that i was a destiny player to begin with but i know some folks who were interested in Marathon.
Missing revenue targets by 45% is such a dramatic underperformance that Bungie would've needed to make some painful cuts to expenses to be financially solvent regardless of whether they were independent or not. Sony obviously can't afford to ignore this emergency from their $3.6 billion dollar investment, but nothing in the reporting provides any indication of just how directly involved they were in the actual layoffs.Bungie is a Sony subsidiary. Again, why would Sony not be involved?
OK. It doesn't say they weren't, either. You're being weirdly defensive of Sony in this.Missing revenue targets by 45% is such a dramatic underperformance that Bungie would've needed to make some painful cuts to expenses to be financially solvent regardless of whether they were independent or not. Sony obviously can't afford to ignore this emergency from their $3.6 billion dollar investment, but nothing in the reporting provides any indication of just how directly involved they were in the actual layoffs.
My issue is that this baseless speculation about Sony's involvement in the matter ultimately distracts from the fact that the responsibility for the layoffs falls squarely onto Bungie's management decisions alone.OK. It doesn't say they weren't, either. You're being weirdly defensive of Sony in this.
And I'm saying I doubt that's really the case.My issue is that this baseless speculation about Sony's involvement in the matter ultimately distracts from the fact that the responsibility of the layoffs falls squarely onto Bungie's management decisions alone.
I believe that understanding the actual truth of the matter is ultimately more important and more valuable to discussing a news event than unfounded theorycrafting. There isn't any particular aspect of this story that would be clarified by assuming that Sony was tangibly culpable for this situation.And I'm saying I doubt that's really the case.
It's not unfounded. It's something corporations do.I believe that understanding the actual truth of the matter is ultimately more important and more valuable to discussing a news event than unfounded theorycrafting. There isn't any particular aspect of this story that would be clarified by assuming that Sony was tangibly culpable for this situation.
So far there are ~247k tech layoffs this year, ~6500 in gamedev. Last year there were ~164k tech layoffs, but I haven't seen any cumulative numbers for games layoffs in 2022. There probably were far fewer last year than this year, just judging by the tech numbers--and with how December and January typically are, it's going to get worse.Is this the worst year for game devs or did we just start hearing consistently about layoffs?
but hey, whatever its (not) going hit that 25mil goal.Sony's operating profit has been down for a while now, despite their record revenue, which usually indicates that their costs are massive. All these layoffs from them recently are basically their way of jettisoning some of these costs to maximise their upcoming financials. It really, really sucks that companies can't just be happy with earning a lot of money each year, but hey, the joys of endless growth capitalism everyone.
Even leaving aside the human cost of these moves, it's undoubtedly going to have an impact on the quality of these games. I mean if Salvatori has gone, that's going to be a huge gap. The man gave Destiny so much character with its amazing soundtrack.
so sony or the company that answers to sony's beck and call100 people lost their job and people are arguing whether this was the fault of Sony or Bungie, a Sony subsidiary. Please do some soul searching.
While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. 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.
Others said they were rebuffed repeatedly and discouraged from even discussing the layoffs whenever they tried to ask questions. Employees in one department recalled a post-layoffs Q&A session where a department head was asked if leadership taking salary cuts to prevent layoffs had been considered, only to respond that Bungie was “not that type of company.”
Both, since they're both ultimately caused by Bungie management not being tethered to reality.I just have to wonder what the hell went wrong that they missed their goal by 45%? Is Destiny 2 just in a really bad shape right now or were the goals just unrealistic (or was it a mix of both)?
Sony's been gunning for liveservice titles and Bungie was seemingly a part of that plan. I would not expect them to suddenly tell Bungie to pivot and make Balo.What are the chances Bungie pivots back to the Halo model of making offline single player experiences alongside multiplayer?
I'm not saying they should abandon live service altogether, but clearly the success of their current strategy is waning. Trying to maintain player engagement for a single game for eight years is a tall order and long running games can be intimidating for newcomers. Perhaps more frequent differentiated releases is the answer.
Better yet, Marathon, the precursor to one of the titles you mentioned.Destiny could be PlayStation's Halo or Call Of Duty. Every three years or so we get a new fifteen to twenty hour single player campaign paired with robust live service multiplayer modes.