Layoffs at Bungie this week, left about 100 employees out of a job. So, instead of the usual This Week In Destiny blog post, the developer shared a statement acknowledging player concerns about employees currently at Bungie and the future of Destiny 2.
There is reason to believe that Bungie's upper management was behind the layoffs, which the Destiny 2 community found alarming. Players also found Bungie CEO Pete Parson's tweet acknowledging the layoffs to be insensitive. Additionally, Bloomberg reported that the highly-anticipated expansion, The Final Shape, which would wrap up the decade-long Light and Darkness saga, will not launch in February of next year. Bungie now aims for June 2024. With the expansion delayed, it leaves a four-month gap between Season 23 and the new launch date — though the blog post did not confirm the date change.
The statement says, "We know we have lost a lot of your trust." The Destiny 2 community has been vocal on social media since the launch of Lightfall, an expansion that received negative reviews, and the current state of the game. A report from IGN says that sources it spoke to said that "Destiny 2 player sentiment was at an all-time low." Also, "this issue had been flagged to leadership repeatedly for months prior to the layoffs, with employees begging for necessary changes to win players back." However, the developer adds that it will make The Final Shape unforgettable, giving examples of successful expansions of the past like Forsaken, The Witch Queen, and The Taken King.
Interestingly, the blog post mentions more than "650 dedicated teammates" — Bloomberg reported Bungie let go 8% of its staff — are working on The Final Shape and episodes, which will replace seasons.
A tweet from the Destiny 2 Team adds that the TWID will come back next week and bring Destiny 2 news and information on the Crucible strike team.
