Bungie, the studio behind the Destiny series, laid off a number of its key employees, while also delaying the release of Destiny 2's latest expansion, The Final Shape, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Multiple employees, mainly from the publishing, marketing and social side of the studio, took to social media to share the news they had been fired. These included Social Media lead Griffin Bennett, who stated that it was "a surreal thing to write as I sit here pondering what went wrong. I'm still processing it all and while my first instinct is anger I know I'd regret what I'd say. Thank you to everyone at Bungie who helped make my last 5+ years the best ever."

Former community manager Dylan Gafner, known as "dmg04", who left Bungie in December last year also expressed support for his former colleagues, stating that "It is frustrating—infuriating even—to continue seeing people who strap in to do good work losing their financial security due to poor management," adding that the move was "continued echoes of poor decisions made that >feel< avoidable. "

Bungie's CEO Pete Parsons confirmed the employee layoffs in a statement on Twitter / X, stating "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." 

Sony acquired Bungie back in January of 2022, and, at the time spent $1.2 billion to retain many of its key staff. The studio has hit hard times in recent years though, with many of its more recent expansions coming under fire from the community.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape has also been delayed. The expansion will be the final chapter of the Light and Darkness saga, the core storyline that has driven the game since the original Destiny back in 2014. It was originally due to be released in February of next year, but according to the report, it has been pushed back until June.

This will also impact Bungie's planned changes for the future of Destiny 2, as it had planned to replace its seasonal update cadence with "episodes" starting in March of next year.