This has not been a corking year for Bungie . From the less - than - enthusiastic receipt ofDestiny 2 : Lightfallto thelayoffs that happened on October 30 , 2023 , things are looking down in the mouth for Sony ’s attainment .
Amidst all of the disceptation , include a gaff earlier this calendar month , a wetting from an internal source report that The Final Shape had been delayed from February to June 2024 and the rebooted Marathon had been delayed to 2025 . Of course , the biggest question is " Why ? "
What happened to The Final Shape and Marathon?
Update(10/31/2023 )
fit in to insider sources providing info to Bloomberg ’s Jason Schreier , the determination to lay off staff and push back the vent of Destiny 2 : The Financial Shape was made for various reasons . The first is that gross was 45 % below carry projections . The 2d is that the layoff were in fact part of the large restructuring exploit made by Sony .
According to Bungie ’s chief operating officer , Pete Parsons , the low tax revenue is a result of the negative response from both critics and participant of the most late enlargement , Lightfall . Parsons would go on to say that Bungie would be cutting costs by reduce locomotion in addition to enforce salary and hiring freeze .
Finally , the reception of the upcoming expansion , The Final Shape , was not meeting anticipation . A conclusion to detain it was made for work out whatever government issue it has .
hold are nothing new to the Destiny dealership . Shadowkeep was detain from September 17 to October 1 , 2019 . Beyond Light was delayed from September 22 to November 10 , 2020 . The Witch Queen was delayed from 2021 to February 22 , 2022 . This holdup impacted the exit of Lightfall , which was pushed to February 28 , 2023 .
This latest delay pushes the upcoming Season 23 into extra innings where it must stretch out across six to seven month instead of the distinctive three . For a secret plan that is practically anemic substance - wise at this point , this certainly does n’t bode well .
Image via Bungie
On May 24 , 2023 , Bungie unveiled the announcement house trailer for a rebooted Marathon , which would now be an extraction gun . While Bungie never officially substantiate a release day of the month for Marathon , the passing water infers that it was in the beginning slate for 2024 .
Related : When does Destiny 2 maintenance end ?
Now , for additional reason as to why . Sony Group Corp is esteem at $ 101.64 billion . fit in toStatista , Sony ’s global revenue was $ 82.64 billion while its net income was $ 6.7 billion in 2022 . 31.58 % of that , nearly a full third of total taxation , come from all things PlayStation . $ 3.6 billion of that was spent that year acquiring Bungie to have the developer head the way in create more alive inspection and repair titles for Sony . This has n’t exactly carry any fruit for Sony yet .
Despite 2023 being a resounding success for games in world-wide , it is parallel by many in the manufacture recede their jobs . While we do n’t yet know how Sony is doing this financial year , it ’s evident that the giant is in the thick of restructuring .
The company has laid off many working for it include staff at PlayStation ’s Visual Arts , Naughty Dog , and Media Molecule . This is after PlayStation President and CEO Jim Ryan announce his retreat in September . After nearly 30 twelvemonth with the company , Ryan will step off at the end of Sony ’s financial year , March 31 , 2024 . to boot , PlayStation ’s Head of Internal Game Production , Connie Booth had also separate ways with the company with no extra information given .
In theEarnings Release for Q1 of Fiscal Year 2023 , Sony noted an increase in costs " … principally due to the impact of acquisitions include Bungie , Inc. " It also noted in Sony ’s prognosis that changes in first - party claim launching date meet a factor . This may also draw up with aleaked internal documentfrom Microsoft noting a " eminent tan - charge per unit " risk for Bungie when it had look at reacquiring the company in 2020 . Sony might be trying to staunch Bungie ’s bleeding of money .
With the push from February to June , this would mean that The Final Shape is moved into the next Fiscal Year report alongside Marathon , should it be released before March 31 , 2025 . With rumors whirl that Sony is already in difficulty for the 2023 Fiscal Year , it ’s potential that the company is unforced to take an spare smasher on the mentum to make the 2024 Fiscal Year look even better by comparison .
link up : Destiny 2 Festival of the Lost Horror Story God Roll and Best Perks
instead , or maybe even conjointly , Sony and PlayStation could be looking at cannibalizing Bungie and its assets . Despite $ 1.2 billion being allocated to retaining staff and promise that Sony would n’t interfere with Bungie ’s operations , those hope have already been broken . By stripping away " redundant " staff and department , Sony is turn off down on Bungie ’s operating price .
There ’s something rotten in the theatre of Bungie and while it would n’t absolve the companionship of its sins , an explanation from it or Sony should be made . Right now , we ’re relying on flake of data being leaked from internal sources . Even with the waiting to make it undecomposed , I feel the shadow of what ’s transpired will loom tumid over The Final Shape .
For more things Bungie , check outHow to get the Festival of the Lost Memento in Destiny 2on Pro Game Guides .
