After continuing to announce its focus on a remote work model, Bungie layoffs have hit the developer hard to an “unspecified” amount despite Sony pledging $1.2 billion on employee retention in the acquisition.

While the scope of layoffs has still yet to be determined, it appears to be company-wide, as now former employees have taken to social media platforms to announce their impending unemployment. Bungie is just the latest company in a growing list in 2023 that has deployed mass layoffs, but unlike Bioware and Epic Games, the Bungie layoffs have not determined whether they will be offering the shocked employees on the receiving end of layoffs a severance. According to LinkedIn, Bungie employs more than 1,600 people and it is currently unknown how many have actually been affected.

In Sony’s Q3 2021 earnings report, they stated $1.2 billion of their $3.6 billion total acquisition of Bungie, they pledged it would be used to retain the developer’s employees, but it seems since that report Sony has backtracked with these Bungie layoffs. the report states “Approximately one-third of the US$3.6 billion acquisition consideration consists primarily of deferred payments to employee shareholders, conditional upon their continued employment, and other retention incentives” with two-thirds to be expensed in the first two years after the acquisition completes.

It’s worth mentioning that although there are an unspecified amount of Bungie layoffs company-wide, Bungie is still hiring according to their website, and they are looking for a “Destiny AI Designer” for employment.

The Bungie layoffs have also stifled the release dates of two upcoming projects, Destiny 2: The Final Shape into June 2024 from its initial February launch, and the multiplayer-based Marathon pushing into 2025. CEO Pete Parsons has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on the layoffs “Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio. What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.” Fans have lambasted the response as “tone deaf,” as the now former employees have also expressed their shock at the Bungie layoffs.

Among the layoffs, renowned composer Michael Salvatori was also on the receiving end of a layoff, and his website has removed all mention of his working at Bungie and instead says “Gone Fishin’ :)” in its place. Other former employees such as Destiny 2 Community Manager & Co-Lead of Accessibility Liana Ruppert have taken to X to state exactly how shocking the Bungie layoffs are, and how financial instability can drastically affect their lives with “I am terrified we are going to lose our house.”

While the Bungie layoffs have hit an unspecified amount of employees, more information regarding the layoffs will surely follow including the amount of people affected by the decision in the near future, and whether employees will receive severance or not.