Bungie could lose its independence within Sony

Bungie is going through a very turbulent phase as of right now. The Destiny developer has faced layoffs, major criticisms, and even delayed its next major expansion until the summer of 2024. This has led to the developer acknowledging that it has lost a lot of community trust lately, and it seems like they could be losing more than that too.

Because in a new very illuminating report from IGN, it's said that Bungie could lose its independence within the Sony Interactive Entertainment and PlayStation Studios family. The developer maintains independence assuming that it hits financial goals, but a recent meeting with Sony and Bungie execs seems to suggest that the delays and struggling performance of Destiny 2 puts the developer in jeopardy of having its board dissolved and therefore being more significantly integrated into SIE.

The report also states that Bungie is facing a huge morale dilemma right now and that some developers describe the mood in the company as "soul-crushing". There are even statements from developers that say that Bungie management expressed indifference and even hostility in the period up to the mass layoffs.

If all of this wasn't enough, the report mentions that the QA team for Destiny was being referred to as "non-developers" and that they were facing increased hostility from team and company leadership, including facing bigger disciplinary actions for seemingly minor problems.

The report caps off with a statement from an anonymous employee who mentions that there is a "us vs. them" feeling between workers and leadership in the company right now, and that "trust has been eroded."