370°

Bungie Reportedly Made Layoff Decisions, Not Sony

New information reveals further details regarding the layoffs that hit Destiny 2 developer Bungie, with Bungie allegedly choosing to terminate staff.

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gamerant.com
stonecold3213d ago

the fanboy and destin made a. video out yesterday tried to blame sony for destin need to make a video out of the developer who left ms

ravens52212d ago

Destin is a fanboy. I'm subscribed to his channel, I know lol.

PunksOnN4G212d ago

Lol yep I still remember when little Caesars roasted him on Twitter cuz he was mad as hell about thier promo with ps lol

Eonjay212d ago

Destin doesn't try to hide that he is a fanboy. One hopes he is able to separate that from his professional job at IGN.

DivineHand125212d ago

Don't mistake fan for fanboy. When Xbox screws up, I usually see a video from Destin roosting Xbox. A fanboy would never do that.

Hypertension140212d ago (Edited 212d ago )

@Eonjay

Looking at the Forza Motorsport vs GT7 video, he really isn't.

Using words like "miles better" to describe the things he thinks look better on Forza to calling things "Exaggerated" when GT7 does it better.

He also skipped over the car models and physics and only mentioned the VR once, like it didn't matter.

Obscure_Observer212d ago

Destin is calling Sony out on their recent decisions just like a few PS fans on N4G has the courage to do.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

212d ago
ModsDoBetter212d ago

If only quicksilver had the courage to do us all a favor and stop hiding behind alt accounts when they go full keyboard warrior.

itsmebryan212d ago

Sony has a lot of people "leaving " or getting laid off lately. Interesting 🤔

jznrpg212d ago

Wait until you see the aftermath of the ABK deal. A lot will be redefined from a few to actually a lot.

BehindTheRows212d ago

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/0...

Nothing "interesting" about it. It's simply a tough time for the tech industry.

Good-Smurf212d ago

After his shady FM vs GT7 comparison, I'm not surprised.
He's still the same nerdy Xbox fan and influencer that treats his audience like idiots.
He just got paid more to be seemingly "neutral" by IGN.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 212d ago
-Foxtrot213d ago

Got to remember aswell, Sony even gave them $1.2 billion to keep employees at the studio yet this shit still happened

https://www.eurogamer.net/s...

213d ago
Redemption-64212d ago

Could depend on who they are laying off. If memory serves me right, they went on a hiring spree when Sony acquired them

DivineHand125212d ago

They fired the guy who made the sound track for the Halo games and the 2 destiny games. This one raised a few eyebrows.

Redemption-64212d ago

@DivineHand125

Not really sure why. They could have found a cheaper person or they couldn't agree with something. At the end of the day, I can't say what is going on, and these lay offs across the industry is becoming alarming. Also, if am not mistaken, didn't both Bungie/343 have issues with the guys that made the soundtrack to their games?

OptimusDK212d ago

They are firing veterans to avoid paying bonuses from the Sony boyout. Dick move by bungie

PapaBop212d ago (Edited 212d ago )

Looking at how it's unfolding, I think Sony actually should get involved, have an internal investigation then get rid of like 90% of the upper management. Let go of some of their most talented developers like Michael Salvatori at possibly one of the worst times of the year to do it, while the untouchable higher ups get their nice fat juicy christmas bonuses. It's disgusting.

kayoss212d ago

Bungie is a public traded company. They have to answer to investors. The fact that they missed their projections by 45%, they needed to make cuts from somewhere to account for those numbers. In a lot of videos ive seen, a lot of people seems to not know the difference between being fired and laid off.

--Onilink--212d ago

Except they arent, they are now just a division of Sony and only answer to Sony.

Even before they werent technically publicly traded as in an IPO, they were an LLC. They still answered to members, not shareholders and they didnt issue stock either

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 212d ago
sparky77213d ago

This missed their revenue target by 45% apparently no wonder there were layoff.

Destiny just isn't growing anymore.

-Foxtrot213d ago

The thing about Destiny is it has its fans and it will only have its fans, it's not something they can grow where they will produce something which will change peoples minds. If people didn't care for the first game and then tried out the second and still didn't care for it even letting all the expansion and updates fly by then they aren't coming back....and I think Bungie know that.

It's why I don't understand they are still continuing their GaaS push on games like Marathon rather than having a remake of the original

Dandizzle212d ago

Not true, Destiny senior leadership and devs are comprised of some OG Halo guys. They created two huge franchisees, I wouldn't count them out just yet.

-Foxtrot212d ago (Edited 212d ago )

Sure if you want to think that

People tried Destiny - Some didn’t care for it and left

Those same people then tried Destiny 2 - Give it another chance, most of them didn’t stick around

The expansion probably weren’t even touched by them aswell

So what makes you think a lot of the people who tried and tried again are going to try Destiny 3 or future expansions?

They won’t stick around, Destiny has its core fans and that’s as much as they are going to get.

kayoss212d ago (Edited 212d ago )

@foxtrot
I think you're spot on. This is why over the past few years, Bungie added an easier way for new players to jump right in. However, with any live service game, it charge you to use those incentives.

@Dandizzle
Destiny 2 will be played for many more years, however their player count will never be the same again. I believe that Lightfall was the turning point and now the news of layoffs is the straw that broke the camel's back,

Neonridr213d ago

Destiny is in its swan song at this point. The Final Shape will be the last expansion, with a planned 3 seasons (to carry through a full year). After that it will be drip content to try to keep the hardcore around. But basically this game is dead come summer 2025.

ChronoJoe212d ago

No way. The final shape is the end of its current narrative ark. They still have tens of millions of players, there’s no way they’ll throw that away.

Post final shape might mean Destiny 3, or it might mean a revamp of Destiny 2, we don’t know. But Bungie won’t give up on the series, it’s literally their lifeblood.

Neonridr212d ago

@ChronoJoe - the bulk of the team has moved on to Marathon. Destiny is dying its slow death. I assure you.

PapaBop212d ago

Yeah, they let go all the people who actually cared about the future of the game and actually understood the fanbase and contributed great ideas that would have improved things, then kept all the idiots upstairs who denied those same great ideas.

The game isn't growing because it's a complete clusterf**k, it's so difficult for new players to get into and then they took all the great things they've done over in Beyond Light and Witch Queen and then ruined all that with Lightfall which story is so bad, it makes the original Destiny story look like a masterpiece.

EmperorDalek212d ago

It looks as though Bungie inflated their revenue target prior to the Sony sale to prop themselves up, it was never a realistic target. Especially not when they release a below par expansion like Lightfall in a year as packed as 2023.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 212d ago
213d ago Replies(1)
Gamer75212d ago

Wouldn't Sony have been made aware of what was going to happen seeing as they own Bungie or were they kept in the dark ?

Gamer75212d ago

I don't know what people are disagreeing for as I'm asking along the lines of did Bungie inform Sony about what was going to happen or did they keep it to themselves

Eonjay212d ago

I think it goes back to the whole independent thing. They basically stipulated as part of their acquisition that they could still operate independently. It's why they will continue to make Xbox games.

kayoss212d ago

Sony owns Bungie, however, when Sony bought bungie. The agreement was that Bungie will operates as its own entity. This means that the majority of the decisions making will come from Bungie themselves. This is the main reason why Bungie games will remain multiplatform.

--Onilink--212d ago

Yes that was part of the deal, but it would also be a bit disingenuous to think it means full independence and no decisions have to go through Sony.

I would find it hard to believe that if one of their “divisions” will do something as big as laying off 10% of their staff, that its not something that has to be brought up with Sony.

The point of the article is I guess more about saying the layoffs weren’t ordered by Sony, not that Sony is completely out of the loop on it

Show all comments (68)
80°

Every PlayStation Studios game available now on Windows PC

Windows Central writes: "Many PlayStation Studios games that are ported to PC get dedicated PS5 DualSense support, which allows users to experience haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support without actually having to own a PS5.

According to Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, it's still the company's intent to launch the bigger single-player games on PS5 first, before later bringing the games to PC. This might not be the case for multiplayer games however, which are considered okay to launch simultaneously on console and PC."

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
ocelot0711h ago

My guess is after god of war. Probably last of us 2 that's a almost 4 year old game now and by the time it's released on pc it will be more than 4 years old or close to 5.

Elda5h ago

Every old Playstation game that is now on PC.

XiNatsuDragnel4h ago

Good at least they can sell hardware

210°

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie. This is something of a homecoming, as Microsoft owns Activision.

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engadget.com
Obscure_Observer22h ago

Very very early in development. Still, fantastic news!

Let´s GO!!!

Lightning7720h ago

I guess.

How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )

At least it wouldn't be MS of all ppl destroying them.

MS really should let go Tango go like they did TFB here.

darthv7220h ago(Edited 20h ago)

one was under Bethesda (Tango) the other under Activision (TFB). Clearly each one handled the separations of their subordinates differently.

Obscure_Observer19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

"How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )"

Perhaps because Zenimax and ABK handles such matters differently based on their own internal policies as "independent" publishers.

Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future. Which could also be the reason why they ensured an exclusive partnership with TFB and its new game, before anyone else.

Sad and disgusting. But it is what it is.

Lightning7715h ago(Edited 15h ago)

"Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future."

MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB.

It's inexcusable, they have options on how to handle studios they don't want anymore with killing jobs. Not just MS but the rest of the industry also.

Sad and disgusting sure how many will get shut down next year or this year even?

I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another.

Obscure_Observer8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

"MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB."

Imo, MS separated from TFB because they didn´t had a game associated with Xbox yet, unlike Tango.

"I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another."

Fair enough. It was indeed an epic dumb move from them to close Tango.

Still, all to be forgotten, like always have. This is not the first time a big publisher shuts down a beloved and/or successful studio out of nowhere and certainly won´t be the last. Do you remember Lionhead? Do you remember Evolution Studios? Yeah... both were beloved studios and yet, those companies kill those studios in q blink of an eye and got away with it.

anast5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

The studio boss made some money from this transaction. Once the game releases, the studio will get chopped up.

-Foxtrot22h ago

Manages to buy their freedom especially after all the shit Microsoft has been doing with its studios lately

...

Goes right back to them as partners.

Okaaaaaay...

darthv7220h ago

Id venture a guess that TFB working directly with MS was a better outcome than working through Activision to get to MS.

VersusDMC18h ago

From the article...

"Toys for Bob spun out as an indie back in February after Microsoft instituted sweeping layoffs that impacted 86 employees, which was more than half of the staff"

I doubt those 86 employees enjoyed the Microsoft experience over Activisions.

Inverno17h ago

MS shuts down studios because of lack of resources and then helps these guys by giving em resources. Also MS is what forced them to buy their freedom in the first place? What kind of logic 😂

Chevalier14h ago

The best thing is that the company that is worth $3 trillion and owns the company instead of Xbox lacks resources. How the hell does a company worth $3 trillion making a measly $70 billion purchase they 'can't' support. Lol

Sciurus_vulgaris20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Xbox’s gaming division seems to still function as 3 semi-autonomous sub-divisions, Xbox Studios, Bethesda and ABK. The three main sub-divisions can seemingly shut down or build studios and set up partnerships independently. This would explain why Bethesda can recently shutdown studios, while ABK spins off one studio, while building a new one. Plus, Toys for Bob could be spun off by ABK, only to immediately re-partner with Microsoft.

Chevalier14h ago

That's absolutely 💯 BS. Any sane 'autonomous' company would NOT put their games on Gamepass day 1 like COD will lose probably billions.

Also they're all under Xbox game studios so any autonomy is an illusion.

PhillyDonJawn2h ago

No, I'm sure MS can and does step in when they want something done specifically but I'm also sure they let them also work independently

Elda14h ago

Either a kiddie game or something uninteresting.

Obscure_Observer8h ago

Don´t worry. You won´t be playing it anyway since their next game will possible be a next gen Xbox console game.

PhillyDonJawn2h ago

Right probably something like astrobot

romulus231h ago

Nah he said "uninteresting", lots of people are interested in Astro Bot.

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130°

What Happens to Your Steam Account When You Die?

The Outerhaven writes: While Steam has come out recently, stating that Steam accounts can't be transferred, we need to think about it since we all will eventually kick the bucket. But if Valve is denying transferring accounts, what can be done? Plenty, actually.

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theouterhaven.net
thorstein1d 23h ago

It goes to my kids because I gave them the passwords.

To Steam: Missio has a song that conveys my feelings about you stealing my purchase after I die. It's called "Middle Fingers"

shinoff21831d 4h ago

Pretty much. My son knows my info.

Abear211d 4h ago

Yeah worrying about digital ownership when you’re on the other side of the grass seems a little strange, but also on brand for these millennial journalists to worry about.

qalpha13h ago

I'm sure Keith will be happy to hear he's a millennial journalist.

Goodguy011d 8h ago

I suppose if I have kids, I'd just give em my account details by retirement age. If I die young then...idk lol.

CrimsonWing691d 5h ago

Yea, I mean just give someone the password to your account. Is that difficult to do or something? Like, I’m legit asking because I don’t know.

anast1d 3h ago (Edited 1d 3h ago )

It's not difficult but It's against the policy. If they find out, they will lock the account permanently.

CrimsonWing691d 2h ago

Ah ok, I had a feeling there was something like that. It seems kind of weird that you can’t just hand your account over to a family member or friend and let them take over the account.

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