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Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is ‘Soul-Crushing’ Amid Layoffs, Cuts, and Fear of Total Sony Takeover - IGN

Ar¢tos

Member
There is something more fundamentally wrong if cutting back on knitting and gay dating clubs in a period where they all need to come together to turn things around is considered instilling fear
What I don't get is the knitting.
Why knitting of all things?
Is it an ultra niche gay thing?
I'm gay, but apparently not gay enough to understand it.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Gaas
subscription services
5-10 years long dev cycles
tv show everything
Every game has to be a new brand or enrich the brand

No wonder they are stressed if every game they make is deciding closure of a studio
 

splattered

Member
Why are they even "worried" that Sony might fully take over? Activision employees were coming out saying they wanted to be under the MS umbrella. Why fear Sony? I'd think it could be a good thing..
 

Alebrije

Gold Member
Nooo, not the birthday cards...!
32b4229145de0a2c1171b9b5757f25dfaa1bbf7b9be0b687be4dd5aec76a34d6.jpg
 

Freeman76

Member
Thats what happens you try to squeeze every penny out of your customers, your business is seen as scummy and nobody supports it other than diehard addicts
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
Now it's Bungie's time. Not sure why a takeover by Sony completely would be a bad thing either.
Agreed. It's absolutely horrible to be under the same umbrella that houses studios like Sony Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Sony Bend. Absolutely terrible. Those employees are so abused and don't output anything.
 

Spyxos

Member
Sony should have bought Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. This Bungie purchase seemed rushed and planless, especially at this price. My only hope is that the marathon will be something cool. I don't expect anything more from Destiny.
 
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tmlDan

Member
It's not about the arts and crafts, that's just an easy point for people to jump all over. (Ha ha, look at the purple-haired loonies crying because they can't do their knitting at work.)

The problem is that they've had a lot of layoffs under their current benevolent leadership, but there will be significantly more to come if Sony steps in. They're even less likely to make a great product in a climate of fear.

That said, I don't really care about them either - they haven't made anything worthwhile in ages, I won't mourn their demise. Pretty hard to see a way back for them if this is how their workforce really feels.
I never advocate for layoffs, but they nearly doubled in size since COVID so its not unexpected.

If they're not gonna make anything new or work faster to make destiny 2 better to increase revenue they deserve the layoffs cause its wasted money. I don't think this is a good thing and its entirely Bungies fault, but Sony is in every right to do so if they take over. As you see, nobody from studios that produced product and generated revenue got laid off.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
he's out of line but he's right .jpeg
that doesnt make sense, as Sony is clearly not control in bungie situation.

And Microsoft had several mismanagement as well.


No wonder you are so interested in Bungie situation, we can see why now.

smirk dwight GIF
 
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Ok man, it’s also not that serious. It’s just a bunch crybabies sad the gravy train is coming to an end.
'serious'? maybe not so much. but the fact that this 'bunch of crybabies' was on the bungie payroll in the first place, hired to fill positions that'd never existed up till then, & collecting salaries up till now? you gotta admit, that's one successful grift, & one not so flattering take on bungie's 'business' sense...
 

gothmog

Gold Member
The problem is that while there may be some truth in here, it's usually heavily biased by cherry picked and dramatic information from people that always feel wronged about pretty much anything. I've been reading articles about my company for years and the truth is usually way different than what it is represented in the media. This is why so many companies have just gone radio silent about these types of hit pieces because you just can't win because it's predicated on a bunch of half truths.
 

simpatico

Member
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 its revenue goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company
lol. So it's a make believe board right now. Bungie, you could have prevented this...
 

NickFire

Member


good quality journalism from Destin /s 🙄

hostile takeover of a company they already fucking own (he has no idea what a hostile takeover actually is…)

But but but its brutal!!!

Except for the people whose jobs will be preserved by turning the ship around. But why talk about the positives of better management when painting a negative picture for da clicks, which seems to be the intent IMO?
 
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BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I feel bad for those impacted. Layoffs and cost cutting is never fun.

But, they only have themselves to blame. As time went on it felt like Bungie was purposefully making Destiny 2 and its various expansions as consumer unfriendly as possible. They failed to respect their consumers' time and money. I've played Korean grind house MMO's that respected a player's time and effort more than it felt Bungie did when I quit Destiny 2 for good a year ago.
 

recursive

Member
Fucking hell, some of you here must live life real hard in the dumps and have the worst fucking jobs ever. I hope you never have the opportunity to manage people or take on a role in leadership because some of the takes are terrible.

These benefits and perks make up a lot of what makes it worth working for a company. At the end of the day, it's about making money, enjoying what you do and being happy in the job. If Bungie start taking away all that stuff, it's going to have a negative impact and morale is going to drop. It's not rocket science and this industry is in a state where working for AAA companies is awful.

Have a bit of compassion people, even if Destiny 2 is shit and Bungie aren't the same company now.
I agree with you for the most part but as a manager I would rather let knitting and cooking classes get canned than layoff more staff. Unfortunately those in the trenches don't see it that way no matter what. Losing some of the other benefits also probably contributes to it.
 

SenkiDala

Member
How can some people here see this like a good thing ? It's like those people have never worked before and dunno what that means.

Bad studios management was a MS exclusive before but it seems that Sony is willing to compete in that field too.

Joke aside this sucks and I hope MS is getting better at managing studios and also that Sony won't lose their ability to do great things with their studios. I get they wanted to compete in the GaaS market since that brings tons of money but it looks like they're shit at it. :(
 

Bridges

Gold Member
I don't give a shit about Bungie really but no more New Hire lunches? That's actually insane. It is such an unbelievably miniscule cost to take someone out and buy them a reasonably priced lunch on their first day. Especially if they have a hiring freeze right now anyway, they don't even have new hires to get lunch for!

This really shows how dire of a situation they may be in. Knitting classes and LGBT clubs are all kinda cringe and obviously unnecessary but these are things that keep employees. The little perks that boost morale. Some of what they were doing before sounds excessive but if they won't even buy a lunch that's pretty miserable.
 
Destiny sucks, but i feel bad for the employees. It’s seemed obvious for awhile now that Bungie has shitty executives and top management. Sony hasn’t done anything wrong here except possibly vastly overpay for what will be the husk of a once glorious studio.

The every day grind developers of the games aren’t the ones in charge of monetization and content and release schedule etc etc. That’s all the higher ups who are just looking for ways to keep themselves fat.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
2 scenarios I could easily see happening. Bungie negotiates their way out of Sony’s bosom and sells to Tencent, Amazon, Apple, whoever. Or Sony takes over the company and a ton of the veteran devs who already got their retention bonuses form a splinter studio like what just happened with Rockstar, and Sony is left holding the bag.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
I don't give a shit about Bungie really but no more New Hire lunches? That's actually insane. It is such an unbelievably miniscule cost to take someone out and buy them a reasonably priced lunch on their first day. Especially if they have a hiring freeze right now anyway, they don't even have new hires to get lunch for!

This really shows how dire of a situation they may be in. Knitting classes and LGBT clubs are all kinda cringe and obviously unnecessary but these are things that keep employees. The little perks that boost morale. Some of what they were doing before sounds excessive but if they won't even buy a lunch that's pretty miserable.

I'm in healthcare IT so we kind of have an unlimited budget. Well I'm exaggerating, but we seriously blow millions each year on fluff for employees. Golf tournaments. Lavish dinners. Renting out entire theaters. Etc.

But even when a new hotshot CTO took over and decided we needed to trim some of the admittingly largesse we were enjoying, we still took out new hires for a two hour lunch. Hell, we even treat our interns who are still in college to a nice lunch at whatever restaurant they want - with the one drink we're allowed at lunch if they're 21.
 

Barakov

Gold Member
2 scenarios I could easily see happening. Bungie negotiates their way out of Sony’s bosom and sells to Tencent, Amazon, Apple, whoever. Or Sony takes over the company and a ton of the veteran devs who already got their retention bonuses form a splinter studio like what just happened with Rockstar, and Sony is left holding the bag.
A Halo spiritual successor?
Not Bad Lauren Conrad GIF by The Hills

I'd probably be down for that. Only if it wasn't riddled with GAAS crap.
 
All of this coming out after Sony supposedly taking Budgies opinion on a Naughty Dog game is pretty funny tbh

Sucks for the employees of course but its a lesson for sure.

No studio should be given much of a say in another studio. There isn't only one magic formula after all.

Hopefully Naughty Dog get to release the game they wanted to and hopefully BUngie bounce back soon.
 
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Haint

Member
Looks to me like they got rid of some absolute bums and are focusing in on people who want to make fun games

jvGfncZ.jpg


Shocking. If you want to be indispensable to a company then maybe your time should be spent harnessing game development skills, not creating little gay clubs

Heart sank when I started reading this, thought Black, Trans, and LatinX™ @ Bungie might be in danger. Hope they're OK.
 
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ByWatterson

Member
But but but its brutal!!!

Except for the people whose jobs will be preserved by turning the ship around. But why talk about the positives of better management when painting a negative picture for da clicks, which seems to be the intent IMO?

Duh.

Every single person is entitled not just to a job, but to EVERY JOB EVERYWHERE AT ALL TIMES.
 

calistan

Member
I never advocate for layoffs, but they nearly doubled in size since COVID so its not unexpected.

If they're not gonna make anything new or work faster to make destiny 2 better to increase revenue they deserve the layoffs cause its wasted money. I don't think this is a good thing and its entirely Bungies fault, but Sony is in every right to do so if they take over. As you see, nobody from studios that produced product and generated revenue got laid off.
Yeah, this is why there's probably little hope for them. Sony must have done due diligence before acquiring the company, so surely they knew it was in trouble and yet saw something worth spending billions on.

But if all they've got out of the deal is a declining MMO, an unfinished looter shooter with no release date, and half the staff waiting for their severance packages, it really seems like a terrible deal.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
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 its revenue goals by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company
LOL. Looks like Sony snuck in a reverse poison pill clause. Typically poison pills are set by the target in case a bigger authority or company swoops in and tries to take over. In this case, the bigger company (Sony) is the one who set the poison pill and if things go sour they take over! Good job Bungie.

Whatever happened to that "Dont worry gamers, we at Bungie set an iron clad deal where Bungie execs have full control and autonomy". What a bunch of BS that was.

Multiple current employees confirmed to IGN that the company has implemented numerous other cost-cutting measures recently, including a studio-wide hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, elimination of holiday bonuses, keeping its annual Bungie Day virtual, delaying its weeklong company “Pentathalon” event to next December, and reducing numerous morale events such as cooking and knitting classes from monthly to quarterly. Bungie is also pausing or fully ending benefits like annual employee compensation adjustments to meet market rates, its new hire lunch program, employee donation matching, its peer recognition program, and gift cards for employees birthdays. And yearly studio performance bonuses this year will only be the contractually obligated 80% minimum, after being above 100% for good performance several previous years running.
Talk about a country club. Employees even get monthly cooking and knitting classes. Do the employees work for a game company or Martha Stewart International? lol
 
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ByWatterson

Member
HOT SPECULATION: How much of this has to do with Naughty Dog's enduring power within Sony? What if Bungie shit on Factions, then didn't hit their own targets, and then Naughty Dog lifers, with the constant ear of Sony higher-ups, decided to persuade Sony to move in for the kill?

Like, I know, I know. But I have to believe fucking with Naughty Dog was a big, missed swing at the king, with all the expected consequences.
 

VinnyMac

Member
"Complete Sony takeover"

Did they not buy your company? Lol wut yeah bro that typically means they can do whatever the fuck they want.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Can Sony make Marathon a proper Marathon game? Otherwise, I don't care if Bungie sucks all by themselves or if they suck together with Sony on board.

I agree. A Marathon single-player campaign that picks up the lore of the original game would be massive. I'm not saying there can't be multiplayer or a GaaS element, but there should be a single-player campaign.

I think it is a real missed opportunity.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
HOT SPECULATION: How much of this has to do with Naughty Dog's enduring power within Sony? What if Bungie shit on Factions, then didn't hit their own targets, and then Naughty Dog lifers, with the constant ear of Sony higher-ups, decided to persuade Sony to move in for the kill?

Like, I know, I know. But I have to believe fucking with Naughty Dog was a big, missed swing at the king, with all the expected consequences.
I thought something similar weeks back when Bungie had those Missed Sales Forecasts By 45% threads.

Bungie was hired back in early 2022 to swing their GAAS dicks around campus and when it turns out they shit the bed more than anyone else, the bullseye targets shifted to Bungie.

It's like working with sales people. They all have targets to hit. When the department numbers go sour, it makes sense for account managers doing fine to "Dont look at me VP. I'm hitting my numbers. Go check on Down The Toilet Dave's numbers instead"
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
"Complete Sony takeover"

Did they not buy your company? Lol wut yeah bro that typically means they can do whatever the fuck they want.
The PR at the time of purchase was Bungie execs publicly claiming the deal gave them power to run as a subsidiary with autonomy.
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
How did Sony not see this coming? Bungie has been in a downward spiral since the launch of Destiny 2. They banked way too heavily on GaaS.

Maybe Sony was blinded by their GaaS hard on they’ve had for the last year or two.
Maybe they did see it coming? Sounds like they're about to take over.
 
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