Forbes contributor Paul Tassi has disputed recent claims that Sony is scaling back support for Bungie as a form of retaliation for the studio’s struggles with live service projects.
In a post on X, Tassi said his sources within Bungie do not believe Sony’s decisions are tied to any effort to punish the developer for underperforming games or broader issues within PlayStation’s live service strategy.
According to Tassi, “The impression is that this reported info probably comes from PlayStation employee observers, not anyone high up with significant knowledge of leadership’s mindset.”
He added that while some PlayStation employees have questioned Bungie’s direction, “Some at PlayStation have ‘publicly wondered’ why D2 is ending support, but keep in mind there are like 12K people working there.”
Tassi said the primary reason behind the reported changes is financial. “This is almost entire financial, simply Destiny 2 cost more than it made. Math. Cruel math, but math. No one at Bungie has any belief this is some ‘revenge’ idea.”
Addressing speculation that Sony is blaming Bungie for broader live service setbacks, including Concord, Tassi wrote, “It is obvious to everyone Bungie has not performed well and it is not exactly Sony’s golden child. But this idea that Sony is blaming Bungie for Concord and all the rest of the live stuff is a huge reach. Sony isn’t doing this to ‘punish’ Bungie for some transgression via its live service plans or game underperformance.”
Tassi also stated that despite reports of Destiny 2 support being significantly reduced, “there are zero plans to wind down actual servers.”
The comments come after French journalist Sylvain Trinel reported that Bungie could face major layoffs this summer. Trinel claimed he had heard that at least 50% of the studio’s workforce, including permanent staff and contractors, could be affected following the end of Destiny 2 and ongoing issues surrounding Marathon.
At the time of Trinel’s report, Bungie was believed to employ roughly 800 people, meaning the rumored cuts could impact around 400 workers if they materialize.
While Tassi acknowledged that Bungie has fallen short of Sony’s expectations, he cautioned against more dramatic interpretations of the situation. “The basics may be true, Bungie didn’t live up to what Sony wanted, some employees working at PS may not understand or like this move, but this isn’t as cloak and dagger as it’s being portrayed. It’s corporate, albeit that is obviously its own kind of bad.”
