Bungie’s workforce has seemingly shrunk by over 700 employees in under a year.
Bungie has had a turbulent year, marked by two significant rounds of layoffs, delays to its highly anticipated Marathon reboot, and high-profile departures. In October 2023, the studio laid off around 8% of its staff, a move that included Don McGowan, Bungie’s former chief legal officer.
Just nine months later, in July 2024, Bungie announced another wave of layoffs, this time affecting 17% of its workforce, raising concerns about the studio’s stability.
These layoffs coincided with delays to Destiny 2’s highly anticipated The Final Shape expansion, and the cancellation of some spinoff projects, with long-time creative leaders exiting the company.
Now, new information from McGowan reveals more about how Bungie’s workforce has downsized over the past year.
Bungie’s Total Employees Post-Layoffs
In an interview with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Don McGowan shared that Bungie had 1,600 employees when he was there, shortly before the layoffs began.
Pete Parsons, Bungie’s CEO, later confirmed in a July 2024 blog post that the company was left with about 850 staff members after integrating some roles into Sony (SIE). This paints a stark picture of just how much the studio’s workforce has changed.
“We still have over 850 team members building Destiny and Marathon, and we will continue to build amazing experiences that exceed our players’ expectations,” the article reads.
Based on these numbers, Bungie’s staff count appears to have dropped by over 700 employees within a year—a reduction of around 47%. While the exact figure isn’t officially confirmed, it’s a striking estimate deduced from McGowan’s comments and Parsons’ updates.
McGowan highlighted a practice at Bungie: hiring fans as a cost-saving strategy. “We hired fans because fans would work for less,” he explained, implying this approach was designed to reduce expenses.
In other news, former Marathon director Chris Barrett has filed a lawsuit against Bungie and Sony, alleging wrongful termination. According to Barrett, his dismissal was an attempt to avoid paying him nearly $50 million in compensation.
While passionate employees can bring dedication, such practices may also raise questions about fair compensation and workplace expectations.
The Game Post has reached out to Bungie for a statement on McGowan’s comments, and will update this story should one be received.
What do you think about the dramatic changes at Bungie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
