Bungie has become the latest studio hit with massive layoffs in a rough year for the gaming industry. According to multiple employees and industry insiders, PlayStation studio Bungie fired multiple employees today. The full scope of the layoffs is yet to be determined.
The Bungie layoffs come just weeks after fellow PlayStation studio Naughty Dog let go of multiple contractors. In the last week, PlayStation studios Visual Arts Group and Media Molecule also had numerous firings. In the case of Bungie, the company had only been part of PlayStation since 2022.
Bungie Employees Confirm Layoffs
Liana Ruppert, the now former Destiny 2 Community Manager and Co-Lead of Accessibility at Bungie, confirmed her firing on X, formerly Twitter.
“Well… my heart is breaking for all affected[.] I am now looking for opportunities,” she said. “I’m processing, I’m so heartbroken. I don’t know what to do from here… this was my home. I feel so lost[.]”
Amanda R., who worked as a Technical Recruitment Lead at Bungie, posted to LinkedIn about her firing. “It’s a strange feeling to wake up in the morning excited for the week ahead, only for your day to begin learning that you’ve been hit with a Reduction in Force and are now on the job hunt,” she said. “I really loved my time at Bungie and in the gaming industry. I met some great people, learned a lot, and truly thought I found a home for the rest of my career.”
Dozens of game studios have suffered massive layoffs in 2023. Major studios like Ubisoft, BioWare, CD Projekt Red, Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Embracer Group, Bethesda Game Studios, and Gearbox Publishing have contributed to the thousands of lost jobs in the industry this year. Unity suffered the most significant layoffs, with 900 firings reported in 2023.
Neither Bungie nor PlayStation have publicly commented on the layoffs at the time of writing.
