Amidst Layoffs at Bungie, Another PlayStation Studio Reportedly in Troubled Waters
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Destiny 2 developer and publisher Bungie is reportedly going through hard times, which has led them to lay off a bunch of their staff. Based on social media posts the communications, social media, and publishing departments at the studio were hit the hardest. Fans are unable to accept that one of their most loved studios is having to go through such hard times.
But fans will be more disappointed knowing that yet another PlayStation first-party studio will soon go through something similar. This one is yet again a studio that has been working in the background on several games. Most of them were VR titles. Reportedly, the newly acquired studio is the one going through a crisis. What will Sony do this time?
Will Sony start layoffs at PlayStation Studio Firesprite too?
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After their acquisition, Firesprite did not make any big-budget titles, but they worked with some of the larger studios to make some of the most unique games. This studio had its hands in VR games like The Playroom VR, Air Force Special Ops: Nightfall, and Horizon Call of the Mountain. Games that it developed completely on its own were Air Force Special Ops: Nightfall and The Persistence.
It has been suggested by a post on X (formerly Twitter) that all is not right at Firesprite. The post said, “CRISIS IN PLAYSTATION STUDIOS. The “newly” acquired studio Firesprite is also in trouble. Through comments on Glassdoor + news + Linkedin there are quite negative things about the current state of the study.
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“➡️ The management since Sony took over is terrible.
➡️ The acquisition of Sony has negatively affected many departments. Since the acquisition, they have lost over 100 employees and the Firesprite culture has been dismantled piece by piece. Sony implemented a hiring pause and caused many employees to suffer complete burnout.
➡️The founders abandoned ship after getting their golden parachutes.
➡️ Projects that are understaffed and often poorly managed.
➡️ Projects in development hell.
➡️ Chaotic production in almost all projects. Which results in wasted time and people running around like headless chickens.
➡️ Management and many employees have limited experience with Unreal Engine and a certain project suffers as a result.
➡️ Pete Ellis the former Naughty Dog developer who went to Firesprite to work as a game director for their narrative horror game left Firesprite this month.
It doesn’t sound good at all.
Info collected by the user St’s Elmos Fire, we will go into depth today in video, but it is very serious.” (Translated by Google.)
👀🔥 URGENTE 🚨
CRISIS EN PLAYSTATION STUDIOS
El "recién" adquirido estudio Firesprite también se encuentra en problemas.
A través de comentarios de Glassdoor + noticias + Linkedin se encuentran cosas bastante negativas del estado actual del estudio.
➡️ La gestión desde que… pic.twitter.com/oMHo0RWhu6
— eXtas1s #Xbox📍#ActivisionBlizzard #Bethesda (@eXtas1stv) October 31, 2023
The post says that ever since Sony PlayStation took over, the management at Firesprite has been terrible. It also suggests that over 100 employees have been laid off since the acquisition by Sony. Sony has even implemented a hiring pause and has even caused the employees to burn out somehow.
The founders of Firesprite have already jumped ship, leaving behind understaffed and poorly managed projects. This has caused the production to be chaotic, which has caused several games to enter development hell.
It appears this small studio is in deep trouble. And this is not the kind of studio that would be able to recover after so many losses. Hence, it would be safe to say that Sony might end up doing away with it. Let’s see where it goes.
Bungie has lost a lot since the acquisition too!
It is also being suggested that while Firesprite might be at the losing end of this game, it does not mean Bungie is doing any better. Ever since PlayStation took over, they have laid off at least 8% of their staff, and their Destiny 2 revenue targets have been missed by at least 45%.
Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted, “Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio.”
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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.
— pete parsons (@pparsons) October 30, 2023
Overall, this has been a tough year in the gaming industry. This is only the latest bit of bad news. Epic Games recently laid off about 16% of its workforce, which is about 830 employees.
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These are not good numbers for a studio that was bought by a gaming giant like Sony. Hopefully, the gaming industry and the employees affected can find a way through this tough period. It remains to be seen where the affected developers go from here.
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Written by:
Edited by:
Ananya Giri