In 2023, Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2, experienced lay-offs, joining the growing list of video game studios downsizing. The news was broken by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier on Twitter, stating that staff at PlayStation Studios were informed of the lay-offs on October 30.
The exact number of people affected by the downsizing is unclear. However, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons sent an email to the staff, notifying them of a meeting where they would receive more information.
While lay-offs are not uncommon in the video game industry, 2023 has been particularly harsh for developers, with numerous studios being affected. In October, Media Molecule, the creator of Dreams, and Frontier Developments, the studio behind F1 Manager, both experienced lay-offs. CD Projekt Red, the studio behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, also underwent multiple rounds of lay-offs as part of a restructuring effort. These job losses led some team members to form a union for Polish game developers.
Epic Games recently laid off 830 employees, which had a significant impact on Mediatonic, the developer of Fall Guys. Telltale Games also reportedly laid off a majority of its workers, while Team17, the maker of Worms, saw deep cuts.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter who is passionate about The Witcher.
