Bungie’s position as an independent Sony subsidiary is reportedly under threat

Bungie’s position as an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment is reportedly under serious threat.

When the PlayStation maker announced its intention to acquire the Destiny studio last year, it said Bungie would “continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play”.

Post-acquisition, Bungie would be an independent subsidiary run by its board of directors chaired by Pete Parsons and Bungie’s current management team, Sony said.

According to a new IGN report, the company’s board is currently made up of PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, Sony senior VP Eric Lempel, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, and Parsons, who serves as a tiebreaker vote.

But the current split board structure is reportedly contingent on Bungie hitting certain financial goals. If it fails to do so, Sony can choose to dissolve the existing board and assume full control of the company, it’s claimed.

In October, Bungie’s staff were reportedly warned that revenue was running at around 45% below projections for the year, which Parsons is said to have attributed to poor player retention for Destiny 2.

Struggling to meet its targets and with the threat of a potential Sony takeover looming, Bungie’s leadership reportedly embarked on a wide-ranging cost-cutting plan that has seen 100 of the studio’s 1,200 employees laid off.

Other recently introduced money-saving measures include a hiring freeze, reduced travel budgets, no holiday bonuses, the pausing of cost-of-living pay adjustments, and other benefit cuts that have reportedly contributed to a significant decline in employee morale.

And there are fears that more job cuts could be on the way too. “We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

Further reading

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Bungie removes Destiny 2 ‘Starter Pack’ DLC after a day, following complaints it was overpriced

The $15 DLC was "not bringing joy", the studio acknowledged

Last month, Bungie confirmed that Destiny 2’s next expansion, The Final Shape, had been delayed from next February to June 4, 2024.

It next new game, Marathon, had also reportedly been internally delayed to 2025.