Bungie has announced that it is laying off 220 employees, roughly 17% of the studio’s workforce, and it’s not the only change.

In a letter published Wednesday, Destiny’s creator cited “rising costs of development and industry shifts” as the reason why the studio had to make the most painful changes in its history. 220 jobs – roughly 17% of the Bungie workforce – will be cut entirely. Employees are forced to be fired.

In the letter, the company announced two more significant changes to the developer’s structure in the future.

“First, we are deepening our integration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 of our roles, roughly 12%, into SIE over the next few quarters,” wrote Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie.

“SIE has worked tirelessly with us to identify roles for as many of our people as possible, enabling us together to save a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force.”

The letter also announced that the studio is working on a new sci-fi action game under PlayStation Studios under a new name.

“Second, we are working with PlayStation Studios leadership to spin out one of our incubation projects – an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe – to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios to continue its promising development.”

The PlayStation maker bought Bungie in 2022. Based on the letter, it is not clear in what form Bungie will continue to exist. It looks like the name will stick around for now.

“For everyone affected by this job reduction, we will be offering a generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage,” the letter states.

At the end of the letter, they reassured fans that the planned Marathon reboot is still in development and that over 800 developers are working on it and the Destiny franchise.

Source: BungieNet