Following the information that Bungie laid off 220 folks, particulars have reportedly been revealed in regards to the firm’s future, together with that it is not presently engaged on Future 3, that it’ll shift its focus from bigger expansions to smaller updates for Future 2 that could be free, and {that a} Future spin-off was canceled.
Bloomberg spoke to 10 present and former Bungie staff who requested to not be recognized, they usually “described an organization that grew too quick and tried to develop too many tasks without delay, spreading assets too skinny fairly than prioritizing its chief moneymaker, Future 2.”
As a substitute of Future 3, Bungie Positioned a Large Guess on Payback
Whereas there could also be many who believed Bungie was laborious at work on Future 3, particularly contemplating Future 2 was launched in 2017, the studio determined to shift its focus to one thing utterly new known as Payback.
Payback, which was described as taking parts from such video games as Warframe and Genshin Affect, was set within the Future universe however was meant to “shake up the formulation in main methods.” As a substitute of being a first-person shooter, Payback was being developed as a third-person title that might see gamers utilizing the franchise’s characters to discover a big world and work collectively to “battle monsters and resolve puzzles.”
This was not being billed as a sequel to Future 2, however extra of a spin-off. Sadly, Payback was canceled simply two months in the past so Bungie might prioritize its extra imminent video games. As a substitute, it moved a lot of the payback crew to work on Marathon, its PvP-focused extraction shooter live-service recreation which is ready to be launched in 2025.
With no Payback and no Future 3 within the close to future, Bungie is planning to proceed supporting Future 2, albeit another way. Regardless of Future 2’s The Last Form growth reviewing very nicely – we gave it a 9/10 – the studio seems to be to “not pursue paid expansions because it did previously.” Based on one of many sources, gross sales for every growth have declined yr after yr.
As a substitute of this annual launch mannequin for large expansions, Bungie seems to be to “retain and entice gamers with smaller-scale drops modeled after Into the Gentle.” For these unfamiliar, Into the Gentle was launched forward of The Last Form and added the Onslaught exercise, the Corridor of Champions social house, Parade Armor 2.0, the return of 12 iconic weapons with the BRAVE Arsenal, and rather more.
Moreover, Bungie is aiming to launch these updates free of charge alongside overhauling actions it hopes will hold its hardcord participant glad. There are additionally “different imprecise plans” that embrace a storyline that “will function characters and worlds that Future has not but explored.”
So, as a substitute of huge new Future 2 expansions, Bungie will put assets into these updates, a smoother onboarding course of, and extra. In a single vibrant spot, a few of the sources mentioned they’re “optimistic in regards to the imaginative and prescient for Future 2 beneath new director Tyson Inexperienced.”
Hassle on the Prime
The layoffs have hit the crew laborious, and the general public Bloomberg spoke to had been crucial of Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, saying he “did not take accountability for his personal unhealthy bets” and that he was “overly optimistic in his communication with the workers.”
There may be additionally fear as a result of longtime veterans Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy left Bungie this week, and that has led to quite a lot of “lingering questions on the way forward for decision-making at Bungie.” Now, with out a few of its leaders, an enormous hit to audio, narrative, and participant help groups, and rather more, Bungie workers at the moment are creating world-class experiences with a “smaller workers, tighter schedules, and an organization that appears considerably totally different than it did three days in the past.”
Along with the layoffs, Bungie is hoping to maneuver 155 of its staff to Sony Interactive Leisure, and a seperate group will likely be a part of a crew engaged on an incubation mission code-named Gummybears.
Ever since Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, issues haven’t gotten higher. Bungie took that money and “employed tons of of recent workers members and pursued myriad incubation tasks, together with cell variations of Future, remakes of outdated video games and new franchises.” Now, it is most essential former and present staff are struggling after a few of these plans by no means noticed the sunshine of day or turned out as these in cost hoped. One of many sources even famous that Parsons informed workers in a gathering in later 2023 that Bungie had missed its income targets by 45% and was shedding cash.
For extra, take a look at how one other former Bungie worker claimed the studio confronted insolvency with out Sony’s acquistion and the video games business’s criticism of Bungie mangagement and Parsons in wake of those layoffs.
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Adam Bankhurst is a author for IGN. You’ll be able to comply with him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.