Leaving my bias against Kotaku slightly aside: the orginal source IGN and its title much better describes the situation: The takeover is honestly the least surprising part. You don't get acquired...
Leaving my bias against Kotaku slightly aside: the orginal source IGN and its title much better describes the situation:
Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover
The takeover is honestly the least surprising part. You don't get acquired for 8 4 billion USD for one IP and not have stipulations. But it sounds like the layoffs from a few months back hit much deeper than cutting labor costs. programs cut, performance bonuses slashed, holiday bonuses removed, hiring freeze, a more or less explicit threat fro C class that another layoff is coming, and more outsourcing done in the past year. It sounds pretty dire at Bungie right now if you're not a C Class.
And in my perfectly blatant bias, I wlll quote this section:
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.”
“It feels like many higher ups aren’t listening to the data and are like, ‘We just need to win our fans back, they still like us.’ No. They don’t...We got rid of some of our most knowledgeable beloved folks who have been here for 20+ years. Everyday I walk in afraid that I or my friends are next. No one is safe."
Always the workers who suffer the most out of management or executive's decision.
It's really interesting for them to say that because by and large Destiny's faults have not been the result of problems on the "grunt work" side of things, the programmers, designers and such....
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.”
It's really interesting for them to say that because by and large Destiny's faults have not been the result of problems on the "grunt work" side of things, the programmers, designers and such. Graphically it still holds up, it plays well on a micro scale. I recently listened to an episode of the Friends Per Second podcast hosted by the game reviewer SkillUp where he chatted with big Destiny content creators about the layoffs (the ep was made shortly after the announcements, so it's old by now) and they all agreed that the problems come resolutely from the management and macro scale of the development.
The problem isn't that basis of the work is being cheaped out on, but that it's going in the wrong direction. And that's the fault of higher management. They should absolutely be the ones to pay for this, not the poor fucks who didn't get laid off (yet).
Say what you will about Nintendo, but Iwata Satoru taking a 50% pay cut in 2014 after the Wii U failed and other higher management figures taking a 20-30% cuts is something that should absolutely be repeated here, though in all honesty I'm too lazy to check right now what the CEO compensation is at Bungie.
But suffering your own consequences? That would be too much for our poor C-level execs. Won't somebody think of the managers??
I know it's an overused cliché, but: the beatings will continue until morale improves. How strange it is that the leadership is so disconnected from its staff and even reality. It is unimaginable...
I know it's an overused cliché, but: the beatings will continue until morale improves.
How strange it is that the leadership is so disconnected from its staff and even reality. It is unimaginable that the staff can maintain its output after a good old fashioned ancient Roman decimation.
It's just plain greed and short term personal gains. Even if you could see the future and told those execs 99% certainty that cutting their own wages was the right call and they'd be better than...
It's just plain greed and short term personal gains. Even if you could see the future and told those execs 99% certainty that cutting their own wages was the right call and they'd be better than even in a few years, they'd still keep the money because nothing is certain and there's always the possibility they've jumped ship by then.
Maybe it’d be for the best. It’s not like the current Bungie board is doing a good job but merely beset by factors outside their control. Sony’s other internal studios have been knocking it out...
Maybe it’d be for the best. It’s not like the current Bungie board is doing a good job but merely beset by factors outside their control. Sony’s other internal studios have been knocking it out the park recently. A breath of fresh air may be what bungie needs.
Yup, Bungie is already self destructing so it might actually help assuming they haven't fired so many people that they're already a hopeless cause. At least it isn't EA taking them over.
Yup, Bungie is already self destructing so it might actually help assuming they haven't fired so many people that they're already a hopeless cause. At least it isn't EA taking them over.
From the article: From IGN: Well that sucks, but I guess it explains that terrible "starter pack" that they were selling for fifteen dollars. There's a timeline where Microsoft held onto Bungie,...
From the article:
While Sony acquired Destiny 2 maker Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, it repeatedly claimed the creator of Halo and other hits would remain an “independent subsidiary.” Now IGN reports that if Bungie’s sci-fi MMO keeps failing revenue targets, Sony could dissolve its existing board of directors and take full control of the roughly 1,100 person studio.
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. And with Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape delayed into the next fiscal year and Bungie still investing heavily on Marathon, many employees understand that Bungie is struggling to meet the necessary targets to keep its last vestige of freedom. Such a takeover wouldn’t necessarily be shocking given its 2022 acquisition, but it would nevertheless be a stunning development for a company that has historically prided itself on its independence.
I'm standing firmly in the camp that they need to just start work on Destiny 3, Destiny 2 is great, but their release schedule is confusing (even for me, who played for too much, for far too...
I'm standing firmly in the camp that they need to just start work on Destiny 3, Destiny 2 is great, but their release schedule is confusing (even for me, who played for too much, for far too long), and the combat is a bit dated repetitive at this point (and the regen system is annoying). Their combination of different packs, different worlds, changes in major gameplay, it's all just so confusing to the average person. Not only that, but the story is just... all over the place now.
Their seasons just add to the confusion, and their releases the last few years have been mostly miss after miss, with some greatness thrown in there in small amounts.
I keep trying to imagine the operational nightmare that comes from studios that run Games as a Service. From what I know, Bungies priorities are sort of: Pay out executive compensation Develop...
I keep trying to imagine the operational nightmare that comes from studios that run Games as a Service. From what I know, Bungies priorities are sort of:
Pay out executive compensation
Develop seasonal gameplay/cosmetics/story
Develop cash shop cosmetics
Maintain the D2 PvE environment
Develop the next/last expansion
Plan Destiny 3
Develop the Marathon game
Manage a community that's in open revolt
PvP and new player experience?
Of everything they are doing, the only obvious revenue streams is the new Season, a few expansions and overpriced cosmetics; all of which depends on maintaining a good community experience. The community in question has endured PvP abandonment, predatory monetization, many lackluster paid experiences, a scam of a transmog system and a million other cuts that keep driving people away.
And the one thing that I really can't understand is the 'content vault'. Countless hours of fully developed game not generating a cent of income. I left the second they announced it but it also completely cuts out any new player from jumping into the world and catching up.
It all seems like such a waste in the end. Bungie set out with a grand 10 year vision and for all the good times and achievements they seemed to burn themselves out and a tainted good chunk of the overall industry as well. The hunt for the Infinitely Profitable Game has left a wasteland of abandoned projects, jobless and burnt out workers, closed studios and a beautiful artform reduced to manipulation and exploitation.
3.6b billion dollar acquisition. For reference. Micrsoft bought all of Zenimax for $7.5b. Tango, Bethesda, IDSoft, Arkane, and more... and the studio with one IP under their belt got almost half...
8 3.6b billion dollar acquisition. For reference. Micrsoft bought all of Zenimax for $7.5b. Tango, Bethesda, IDSoft, Arkane, and more... and the studio with one IP under their belt got a better deal almost half of that outright. It honestly makes it sound like Zenimax and Minecraft (2.5b) were a steal if that's the evaluation.
People call it a sell-out and it is, but I also can't blame whoever was there for taking such a deal. Of course, it sounds like they may have to pay the piper.
Sound like Sony made a bad deal. 8 billion just for Bungie and basically only one game (Destiny). Minecraft was definitely a steal for Microsoft, considering that Minecraft is best selling video...
Sound like Sony made a bad deal. 8 billion just for Bungie and basically only one game (Destiny).
Minecraft was definitely a steal for Microsoft, considering that Minecraft is best selling video game of all time.
Apologies. I must have mixed the number up with some other aquisitions. I'll correct that. I hope it doesn't sound too hand wavey to say it's still a crazy amount for what is essentially one IP...
Apologies. I must have mixed the number up with some other aquisitions. I'll correct that.
I hope it doesn't sound too hand wavey to say it's still a crazy amount for what is essentially one IP and a lot of talent.
Sorry! He was an NFL player that famously started on 9 different teams during his career, which is a league record. He just kinda jumped from team to team. Likewise Bungie just seems to bounce...
Sorry! He was an NFL player that famously started on 9 different teams during his career, which is a league record. He just kinda jumped from team to team. Likewise Bungie just seems to bounce around between console developers.
Bungie is willing to give up everything that made them a great and unique studio to keep their independance. While it's insane that Sony managed to include a clause that just lets them dissolve...
Bungie is willing to give up everything that made them a great and unique studio to keep their independance. While it's insane that Sony managed to include a clause that just lets them dissolve the board, the end result is a management team that has no respect for the people doing the actual work.
And since there's no money to be made in dissolving the board, management will run the company into the ground before they give up control. It sounds like they aren't even trying to win back employee trust, and I'm sure it's because they have even more cuts planned.
An all around terrible situation for the people who love Bungie, both employees and players.
When Destiny came out, I was so excited for it. Growing up with Halo, I definitely was looking forward to anything Bungie was going to put out. Especially then, when they were more or less...
When Destiny came out, I was so excited for it. Growing up with Halo, I definitely was looking forward to anything Bungie was going to put out. Especially then, when they were more or less independent. 20h or so later, I realized that the game isn't worth playing without buying an increasing number of DLCs. So I got soured on this franchise.
When Destiny 2 came out, I played it for even less than that. I think shooting for a live service model was a dumb idea, and it wasted all promise of a very interesting fantasy universe.
How lovely would it be if Sony stepped in, and have the next title be a classic, singleplayer title, with enough content at release to call it a full experience? Honestly, I can't remember a single dud that Sony's studios have put out in years. Their titles are always above average, from all points of view - narratively, gameplay-wise, design, worldbuilding.
It would be lovely, but I don't see it happening too soon.
Leaving my bias against Kotaku slightly aside: the orginal source IGN and its title much better describes the situation:
The takeover is honestly the least surprising part. You don't get acquired for
84 billion USD for one IP and not have stipulations. But it sounds like the layoffs from a few months back hit much deeper than cutting labor costs. programs cut, performance bonuses slashed, holiday bonuses removed, hiring freeze, a more or less explicit threat fro C class that another layoff is coming, and more outsourcing done in the past year. It sounds pretty dire at Bungie right now if you're not a C Class.And in my perfectly blatant bias, I wlll quote this section:
Always the workers who suffer the most out of management or executive's decision.
It's really interesting for them to say that because by and large Destiny's faults have not been the result of problems on the "grunt work" side of things, the programmers, designers and such. Graphically it still holds up, it plays well on a micro scale. I recently listened to an episode of the Friends Per Second podcast hosted by the game reviewer SkillUp where he chatted with big Destiny content creators about the layoffs (the ep was made shortly after the announcements, so it's old by now) and they all agreed that the problems come resolutely from the management and macro scale of the development.
The problem isn't that basis of the work is being cheaped out on, but that it's going in the wrong direction. And that's the fault of higher management. They should absolutely be the ones to pay for this, not the poor fucks who didn't get laid off (yet).
Say what you will about Nintendo, but Iwata Satoru taking a 50% pay cut in 2014 after the Wii U failed and other higher management figures taking a 20-30% cuts is something that should absolutely be repeated here, though in all honesty I'm too lazy to check right now what the CEO compensation is at Bungie.
But suffering your own consequences? That would be too much for our poor C-level execs. Won't somebody think of the managers??
I know it's an overused cliché, but: the beatings will continue until morale improves.
How strange it is that the leadership is so disconnected from its staff and even reality. It is unimaginable that the staff can maintain its output after a good old fashioned ancient Roman decimation.
It's just plain greed and short term personal gains. Even if you could see the future and told those execs 99% certainty that cutting their own wages was the right call and they'd be better than even in a few years, they'd still keep the money because nothing is certain and there's always the possibility they've jumped ship by then.
Maybe it’d be for the best. It’s not like the current Bungie board is doing a good job but merely beset by factors outside their control. Sony’s other internal studios have been knocking it out the park recently. A breath of fresh air may be what bungie needs.
Yup, Bungie is already self destructing so it might actually help assuming they haven't fired so many people that they're already a hopeless cause. At least it isn't EA taking them over.
From the article:
From IGN:
Well that sucks, but I guess it explains that terrible "starter pack" that they were selling for fifteen dollars. There's a timeline where Microsoft held onto Bungie, allowed them to remain Independent and Halo isn't a GAAS title, but I'm sure the sky is purple or ice cream tastes bad or something.
I'm standing firmly in the camp that they need to just start work on Destiny 3, Destiny 2 is great, but their release schedule is confusing (even for me, who played for too much, for far too long), and the combat is a bit
datedrepetitive at this point (and the regen system is annoying). Their combination of different packs, different worlds, changes in major gameplay, it's all just so confusing to the average person. Not only that, but the story is just... all over the place now.Their seasons just add to the confusion, and their releases the last few years have been mostly miss after miss, with some greatness thrown in there in small amounts.
I keep trying to imagine the operational nightmare that comes from studios that run Games as a Service. From what I know, Bungies priorities are sort of:
Of everything they are doing, the only obvious revenue streams is the new Season, a few expansions and overpriced cosmetics; all of which depends on maintaining a good community experience. The community in question has endured PvP abandonment, predatory monetization, many lackluster paid experiences, a scam of a transmog system and a million other cuts that keep driving people away.
And the one thing that I really can't understand is the 'content vault'. Countless hours of fully developed game not generating a cent of income. I left the second they announced it but it also completely cuts out any new player from jumping into the world and catching up.
It all seems like such a waste in the end. Bungie set out with a grand 10 year vision and for all the good times and achievements they seemed to burn themselves out and a tainted good chunk of the overall industry as well. The hunt for the Infinitely Profitable Game has left a wasteland of abandoned projects, jobless and burnt out workers, closed studios and a beautiful artform reduced to manipulation and exploitation.
I didn't even realize Bungie was bought by Sony. I thought they wanted their independence... How strange.
83.6b billion dollar acquisition. For reference. Micrsoft bought all of Zenimax for $7.5b. Tango, Bethesda, IDSoft, Arkane, and more... and the studio with one IP under their belt gota better dealalmost half of that outright. It honestly makes it sound like Zenimax and Minecraft (2.5b) were a steal if that's the evaluation.People call it a sell-out and it is, but I also can't blame whoever was there for taking such a deal. Of course, it sounds like they may have to pay the piper.
Sound like Sony made a bad deal. 8 billion just for Bungie and basically only one game (Destiny).
Minecraft was definitely a steal for Microsoft, considering that Minecraft is best selling video game of all time.
Wikipedia is saying it was a $3.6 billion acquisition.
Apologies. I must have mixed the number up with some other aquisitions. I'll correct that.
I hope it doesn't sound too hand wavey to say it's still a crazy amount for what is essentially one IP and a lot of talent.
Wow we're one Nintendo acquisition away from them being the Ryan Fitzpatrick of gaming studios.
I'm too European to understand that reference :)
Sorry! He was an NFL player that famously started on 9 different teams during his career, which is a league record. He just kinda jumped from team to team. Likewise Bungie just seems to bounce around between console developers.
It's like they're playing hot potato.
Bungie is willing to give up everything that made them a great and unique studio to keep their independance. While it's insane that Sony managed to include a clause that just lets them dissolve the board, the end result is a management team that has no respect for the people doing the actual work.
And since there's no money to be made in dissolving the board, management will run the company into the ground before they give up control. It sounds like they aren't even trying to win back employee trust, and I'm sure it's because they have even more cuts planned.
An all around terrible situation for the people who love Bungie, both employees and players.
When Destiny came out, I was so excited for it. Growing up with Halo, I definitely was looking forward to anything Bungie was going to put out. Especially then, when they were more or less independent. 20h or so later, I realized that the game isn't worth playing without buying an increasing number of DLCs. So I got soured on this franchise.
When Destiny 2 came out, I played it for even less than that. I think shooting for a live service model was a dumb idea, and it wasted all promise of a very interesting fantasy universe.
How lovely would it be if Sony stepped in, and have the next title be a classic, singleplayer title, with enough content at release to call it a full experience? Honestly, I can't remember a single dud that Sony's studios have put out in years. Their titles are always above average, from all points of view - narratively, gameplay-wise, design, worldbuilding.
It would be lovely, but I don't see it happening too soon.