Sony seems to be reducing Bungie‘s headcount further following a tumultuous year marked by mass layoffs and financial troubles. In two separate recent developments, Sony moved yet another Bungie team over to PlayStation, and at least two senior Bungie executives quietly departed the team.
Sony’s acquisition of Bungie continues to be scrutinized
As spotted by Tech4Gamers, a strategy team at Bungie has just announced a full transition to PlayStation, which isn’t the first time Sony has pulled select teams and employees out of the studio. This news was shared by one Joss Price on LinkedIn, who now leads business development and franchise strategy at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Then, TheGamePost reports that two Bungie veterans have left without making any public comments. However, they did update their profiles to note that they were no longer at Bungie. One of the executives is Ondraus Jenkins, who was studio’s Chief Strategy Officer for 16 years. The other departure is Jonny Ebbert, who spent seven years at Bungie, out of which the last five were spent as Chief Creative Officer.
In July 2024, Over 200 roles were eliminated at Bungie amid Destiny 2 struggling to maintain a desirable player base. The studio’s $3.6 billion acquisition continues to puzzle the games industry, and reports have since emerged that Bungie misled Sony about its financial position prior to purchase.