For those who don’t know, we must first remember that Bungie is not a PlayStation studio. At least not in the same way as Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Housemarque and all the other names that appear in this list. As announced on the day of the expensive surprise acquisition in January 2022, for which Sony Interactive Entertainment invested $ 3.6 billion, Bungie joined the PlayStation family as an independent subsidiary, which means that co-founder and CEO Pete Parsons still has final say over the studio’s operations and whether Bungie games continue to be released on all platforms.
In detail, Rebekah Valentine explains that Bungie’s board of directors is currently shared between Bungie executives and PlayStation representatives, including PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst and vice president of marketing Eric Lempel. As it stands, CEO Pete Parsons has the final say on tie decisions. Except that this balance of power is not set in stone. IGN’s investigation tells us of the existence of a clause that would allow Sony Interactive Entertainment to fully absorb Bungie if the studio’s results fall below a certain threshold.
Big pressure on The Final Form
“ Although the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public and employees, sources say they have been informed by executives that the current board structure is contingent on the achievement of certain financial goals. by Bungie. If Bungie fails to meet its revenue goals by too much, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board of directors and take full control of the company. With Destiny 2’s expansion, The Final Shape, having been delayed until the next fiscal year and Bungie continuing to invest heavily in Marathon, many employees understand that Bungie is struggling to achieve the goals necessary to retain its last vestige of freedom. Such a buyout wouldn’t necessarily be shocking given its 2022 acquisition, but it would nonetheless be a stunning twist for a company that has historically prided itself on its independence. »
According to IGN, it is in particular in the hope of maintaining control and continuing to cultivate this independence that it has exercised since its departure from Microsoft and its divorce from Activision, that Bungie took the decision to lay off around a hundred employees ( out of 1,200) last month, in addition to other cost-cutting measures including a recruitment freeze and the reduction (or cancellation) of various activities and bonuses intended for employees. Internally, morale is far from good after the forced departure of many valued people, especially since Bungie management has suggested that other layoffs could take place if necessary. We imagine that caution is now required and that the next extension of Destiny 2which will be released on June 4, 2024, now carries a particularly heavy weight on its shoulders, especially since Marathon is not expected to debut until 2025.” We know that The Final Form absolutely has to work well. And the feeling from the studio is that if it doesn’t, we’ll definitely have to look at further layoffs », Comments a source from the IGN site.