Layoffs are no fun. In this industry, especially in the last few years, they have happened constantly. Sadly, one of the games that almost felt like it was going to go on forever, Destiny 2 also isn’t safe from layoffs. Destiny 2 was announced to have its final content update in May. That update hit Destiny 2 on June 9th, 2026. There are still some balance patches and bug patches that happen occasionally, but Bungie has announced that its focus will be on new games and on Marathon. Today, Herman Hulst, the Studio Business Group CEO for Sony Interactive Entertainment, has announced a reduction in the workforce for Bungie, the development studio behind Destiny 2.
Herman Hulst says this about the layoffs “We have made the decision to reduce Bungie’s workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members. There are also reductions across SIE teams that support Bungie’s operations. Those impacted at Bungie and within SIE are being informed today”
We don’t have a solid number of how many are affected, but Destiny was the main video game that changed how live service games were made forever. It constantly got new updates and new expansions. It constantly got new balance patches and had a lot of community support. A lot of games want to do what Bungie was able to do with Destiny.
For many of us in the gaming space, this hits hard. I was someone who loved the first Destiny and played it quite a lot. Destiny 2 I bought on release and played it for a good chunk until the whole change to the expansion format happened, and content got cut, and the game went free-to-play. I still return at times to play with some of my friends, but generally, I stopped, always thinking I could return and Destiny 2 would be there for me to catch up on. Destiny 2 can still be played, and the servers will be live as long as Bungie can operate them. It just doesn’t feel like a live game anymore, with the final content update already in place.
It will be interesting to see what new games Bungie supposedly is working on, as I doubt Marathon is the only thing they are focused on. I also do wonder how this affects the plans of Bungie going forward. Alongside this announcement, Justin Truman is stepping down as the head of the studio at Bungie. This was announced via Jason Schreier on Bluesky.
BREAKING: Bungie studio head Justin Truman, who succeeded Pete Parsons last year, is stepping down, people familiar with the situation tell Bloomberg News.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2026-06-25T16:08:03.360Z
Paul Tassi on Twitter has said he heard that the new Studio Head is Poria Torkan.
Poria Torkan is now running Bungie after Justin Truman's departure. He was the former VP of Operations
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) June 25, 2026
Bungie is going to have a lot of restructuring it will need to do following this wave of layoffs. Best of luck to the team there, as well as luck for those in the team who got laid off.
Sources: Sony Interactive Entertainment Blog, Jason Schreier’s Bluesky,Paul Tassi’s Twitter
