Former Bungie Lawyer Suggests Sony’s Tough Love is Reshaping Destiny 2’s Future

To this day, there’s still discussion about Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie. Many negative things have happened since then, including hundreds of developers being laid off and the release of the Eclipse and Final Form expansions for Destiny 2. The MMO FPS has experienced its fair share of turbulence, but a former Bungie lawyer has speculated that Sony’s management style might be the reason behind these changes.

Former Bungie General Counsel Don McGowan spoke on LinkedIn about the current situation at the studio, suggesting that Sony’s approach could help Destiny 2 remain profitable long-term by shifting to a more dynamic business model. This model focuses on offering two mid-sized annual expansions and free updates starting in 2025. “As much as it pains me to say this, it seems like Sony’s inflicting some discipline on my former colleagues may have forced them to fix things that were wrong with their game,” he remarked.

“Just to be clear: I’m not talking about layoffs, I’m talking about forcing them to get their heads out of their asses and focus on things like: implementing a method of acquiring new players; not just doing fanservice for the fans at the top of Bungie; and running the game like a business. I’m glad. I still have friends in that environment and I wish they would keep their jobs,” McGowan elaborated about Bungie.

“This is the Future I Thought Bungie Should Embrace”

The legal expert also reflected on how some Bungie employees misunderstood the purchase, thinking that Sony wouldn’t influence the studio’s decisions, when in reality, it has played a significant role in shaping its current strategy. The new focus on smaller expansions and free updates aims to attract new players and ensure sustainability, guaranteeing a steady income and the game’s viability as a business.

“As much as it pains me to say this,” a former Bungie lawyer noted, Sony has imposed a “discipline” to make the Destiny 2 business profitable. Despite the former lawyer’s opinion, a former Bungie developer claimed that “Sony overpaid for Bungie” after the $3.6 billion deal. “This is the future I thought the company should embrace after the Sony acquisition: a studio, not an ‘independent company.’ But there were a lot of egos for whom it was important to pretend that ‘nothing would change,'” he said, confirming that PlayStation knew it would need to intervene in Bungie’s management sooner or later to reorganize the business around Destiny 2.

“I remember sitting there during the settlement saying, ‘Do you think Sony is describing this as them paying $3.6 billion for the right to have nothing to do with what Bungie does?’ That was exactly what a lot of people were thinking. I guess they’ve been given cause to understand that that’s not how things work,” he recalls. While some believe “Sony has saved Bungie,” there are still former developers who are unhappy with the studio’s leadership and are calling for CEO Pete Parsons’ removal.

“The changes described in this article (a Kotaku news story about Destiny 2’s long-term reworks) are things you do to run a franchise, not to keep making the game you and your friends have mastered, or to chase trends,” concludes McGowan’s LinkedIn post (via The Game Spot). While reports suggest that Destiny 2 recently hit its lowest point on Steam in terms of player numbers, Bungie is determined to secure a successful future for its sci-fi FPS, a direction in which Sony seems to have played a significant role, at least according to McGowan.

Marathon Expected to Launch in 2025

Looking ahead, time will tell if this new business model for Destiny 2 will deliver the results PlayStation hopes for. We also can’t forget about Marathon, Bungie’s next big game, rumored to have some production issues, as reported by journalist Jason Schreier weeks ago. Additionally, the executive who was set to lead Marathon was dismissed due to inappropriate conduct toward female employees. Currently, Marathon, a PvP extraction shooter, is scheduled for release in 2025, with more updates expected in the coming months.

Source: 3djuegos