Destiny developer Bungie says it has addressed an issue where players have had their usernames changed by its "name moderation tool".

After "actively investigating" the issue for 24 hours, Bungie advised that while it had "identified the issue that was forcing a high number of Bungie name changes", it was "continuing to investigate" what happened and how "to address player accounts that were impacted".

Although Bungie acknowledged that a "high number of account names have been changed", the studio stopped short of confirming exactly how many players were affected.

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The grind for exotic item drops in Destiny 2 is apparently very real. So real, in fact, that players are willing to write and share macros in order to AFK farm for the big shiny. This behavior hasn’t gone unnoticed by Bungie, however, and the developer is now updating its ban policy to account for […]

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! This week, I’ve been half reading in the garden and half staring in awe at my Kindle’s paperwhite doohickey and it’s ability to stay readable in searing sunbeams. I’m tempted to look up how it works but I don’t want to find out it’s made from the luminous, genetically-engineered husks of the workers that drop dead from dehydration at the fulfilment centers or something. To help distract me with yet more books, it’s Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider writer and Destiny 2 senior narrative designer, Dr. Hazel Monforton! Cheers Hazel! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

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Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! This week, I’ve been half reading in the garden and half staring in awe at my Kindle’s paperwhite doohickey and it’s ability to stay readable in searing sunbeams. I’m tempted to look up how it works but I don’t want to find out it’s made from the luminous, genetically-engineered husks of the workers that drop dead from dehydration at the fulfilment centers or something. To help distract me with yet more books, it’s Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider writer and Destiny 2 senior narrative designer, Dr. Hazel Monforton! Cheers Hazel! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

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Destiny 2: The Final Shape is a good expansion with one particularly terrible exotic loot chase. The new exotic class items are powerful pieces of RNG gear that can be extremely tedious to chase, which is why lots of players instead rely on AFK macros to farm the loot for them. The epidemic of AFK farming has gotten…

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“You were always my favourite. Never forget that…”

After nearly a decade in the making, the final chapter of the Light and Darkness saga is finally here, bringing with it the closing chapter of one of gaming’s most divisive franchises: Destiny. After arguably what was one of the worst years for Destiny 2 following the subpar Lightfall expansion, the decision to delay TFS until mid-2024 was ultimately a smart one, allowing Bungie the time to cook the expansion to perfection, following the excellent Into the Light update that bridged the gap following the news of the delay. Despite following the longest season on record and having a bit of a rough start over the first couple of days, The Final Shape has launched to near enough universal acclaim from the player base, leaving many reeling for more following the conclusion of the campaign and our final stand against the Witness, leaving many wondering what comes next for the franchise. After releasing on the 4^th June 2024 for all major platforms, I’m going to be covering the time I’ve spent with the PS5 version of the game; detailing the good and deconstructing the bad, whilst ultimately giving you my impressions as to whether the game is worth your time and money at the £41.99 asking price (UK PSN Store).

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL SHAPE, CARRY ON AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

When the Destiny Beta dropped on PlayStation 4 in July 2014, I was instantly drawn into the world and its atmosphere from minute zero. There was nothing quite like the experience I had with the beta at the time, the game’s environment design and world building struck a chord like nothing before; here was our universe, albeit filled with mystery and secrets that were just begging to be uncovered. Whilst the narrative in the final game was somewhat sub-par, it was Bungie’s environmental storytelling of a much bigger narrative (as well as the controversial Grimoire cards) that solidified my interest in the franchise as a whole; mysteries and stories that would be uncovered over the course of Bungie’s ’10-year plan’ for the franchise. In addition to the narrative, the multiplayer aspect was a standout feature for the game as well; even though online multiplayer was well established by this point (all beef was settled in the map Rust on Modern Warfare 2 back a day) Destiny just hit different, feeling more MMO-like in scale, whilst retaining its looter-shooter identity at its core. My fondest memory of OG Destiny was the first time I ever completed the Vault of Glass raid, meeting people from around the world (LFG was a lot friendlier in those times) and working together through communication and challenges was an exhilarating experience, that solidified my already strong fondness for the franchise as whole, to the point that I’m still here nearly a decade later (through most of the franchises warts and moles to boot).

Destiny 2 was more of a mixed bag upon release, with many holding the state of D1 at it’s end in high regard and dismissing the core changes made to Destiny 2 at launch, leading Bungie down a path of reverting a number of changes (the removal of random rolls was just silly) that would not bring the game back into a favourable state until the release of Forsaken (Destiny 2’s equivalent of The Taken King). The expansions that followed (Shadowkeep and Beyond Light) were both fairly well received, with The Witch Queen being a particular high note for many players, and last year’s expansion: Lightfall falling short somewhat (you can check out my full review here) leading to one of the worst years for Destiny 2 player retention (although the Into The Light update was excellent). With tensions at an all time high between Bungie and the player base, there was a lot riding on The Final Shape to deliver a powerful ending to the saga that delivers on multiple fronts, tying off long-standing lore and story strands that have been brewing since those initial moments in OG Destiny, whilst also holding down content that will keep the player base engaged beyond the narrative conclusion. I’m happy to report that the extra time that Bungie spent cooking paid off, delivering an expansion that is arguably up there with the best of the franchise.

Don’t break my heart, my achy, pale heart:  The Final Shape takes our Guardian inside the heart of the Traveller to face down the Witness, after arguably one long year of staring at the prismatic triangle.

Straight out of the gate The Final Shape throws down its hands right into mixing up the nostalgia, giving those who haven’t played the game in a while (or those simply wanting a refresher) a recap of the major story beats that have taken place over the last 10 years, as well as the story’s culmination point; the being known as the Witness, who seeks to create the final shape of the universe, calcified into eternity in the name of so called “Salvation”.  Following Crow at the end of Season on the Wish, the campaign finds us diving head first into the opening created by the spirit of Riven, right into the pale heart of the traveller, to be greeted by a long-lost ally in the form of Cayde-6 (voiced one again by the excellent Nathan Fillion). The reunion between our Guardian and Cayde-6 is easily one of my favourite moments of the franchise; the fact that he’s also playing the theme to Forsaken (the expansion where Uldren Sov killed him) on a harmonica makes the scene all the more poignant. The narrative this time around is far more linear in scope, with the Pale Heart destination acting as a side-to-side destination that you fight your way across over the course of the campaign, learning more about the traveller, the Darkness as well as the Witness, ultimately discovering the means of defeating the entity, once and for all. The mission structure is more personal also, focusing on rebuilding the vanguard in the pale heart rendition of the old tower from D1, helping them through their own doubts and struggles as a result. One key moment that finally showcased Big Blue’s tragic backstory to a significant degree was the mission Exegesis, voiced now by Keith David following the passing of Lance Riddick in 2023. The loss of his wife Safia and son Hakim are the driving force behind Zavala as a character, which are even more poignant in The Final Shape, showcasing his ambivalence of being a Lightbearer, and his admission that they should look to the darkness for answers in response to The Witness’ salvation.

Following in the Witch Queen and Lightfall’s footsteps, The Final Shape once again offers both a legendary campaign that increases the difficulty for a greater challenge, and when considering the weight of the battles ahead, it feels only fitting to play the campaign the way it was meant to be played, rewarding you with a complete set of gear right in the middle of the power grind at 1960. The narrative is comprised of around 7 main missions (8 if you include the new Strike) and works at setting up the different areas of the Pale Heart for the guardian to later explore (the patrol zone is completely solo this time around). Upon reaching the campaigns final moments, it becomes clear that the narrative isn’t quite yet over, and whilst the means of destroying have been discovered (those creepy blanket statues discovered during Shadowkeep now show their true purpose) it will take a world’ s first completion of the new raid ‘Salvation’s Edge’ during the 48h contest mode where a fireteam can finally undo the Witness’ chokehold on the traveller for good, leaving them vulnerable to the finishing blow. With only one clear within the first 24 hours, Salvation’s Edge is being dubbed as the hardest raid that Bungie has ever released, to the point where me and my own clan are still yet to get a completion down; mechanically, this is Destiny raiding at it’s best. Following the completion of the world’s first, a new 12-man activity (recalling the Garden of Salvation raid glitch was brilliant here) was unlocked called Excision, and I have to say that this activity (complete with its cutscenes) was one of the best experiences I’ve had in gaming, period. Excision acts as Destiny’s equivalent to the Battle of Helm’s Deep; nearly every character we’ve had dealings with over the last 10 years makes an appearance for the final battle (from the Drifter to Savathûn) all lending aid in the form of various buffs over the course of the 40 minute long battle against the Witness’ forces (including the new enemy type called the Dread) ultimately leading to the 12 guardians channelling the light (think the Care Bear Stare) and ultimately destroying the Witness for good, but not without our Ghost taking a battering as a result. Ghost shows signs of wear and tear over the course of the campaign, but what transpires at the end of Excision is enough to bring the toughest SOB on the planet to tears, acting as a perfect conclusion to such a momentous battle.

Guardian Excision-hands: The final activity of the campaign: Excision, is the Destiny 2 equivalent of the Battle for Helm’s Deep, acting as the perfect conclusion to the Light and Darkness Saga.

So, we’ve established that the narrative for TFS is excellent, but what about the gameplay? Large and part Destiny 2 plays how it always has, its looter/shooter core has remained largely the same, with additions being made on top for more emergent gameplay. The biggest addition is the inclusion of the prismatic subclass, which takes the best fragments, aspects and supers from all of the 3.0 loadouts from recent years and combines them into a singular subclass, allowing you to synergise your favourite builds into one. As a Hunter main, the combination of Winter’s Shroud, Combination Blow, Stylish Executioner and the exotic Liar’s Handshake is downright one of the most broken, fun builds I’ve ever used, acting as a perfect synergy between top-tier arc and void subclasses. The primary new mechanic is the new transcendence skill which situates itself beneath the super meter; as you deal damage with light and dark abilities/weapons, this meter builds which is then activated with a press of L3 and R3, increasing damage resistance, weapon damage, as well as your grenade and melee abilities recharge much faster, but the cream of the crop is the new prismatic grenades that each class has access to during this state.

Other gameplay additions worth mentioning are the new UI which sees the buffs and debuffs remain on the left-hand side of the screen, weapon perks are now above the super bar, and mission critical information (like DPS windows for raids) are now at the top of the screen in a larger font. Small changes like this make the game that much more fluid and easier to track, showcasing Destiny 2’s stellar combat better than ever before. In addition is the new pathfinder system, which replaces weekly vendor bounties in the form of branching challenges that connect to one another, allowing you to choose a path to your powerful/pinnacle rewards through challenges based around the Pale Heart destination and playlist activities. All in all, it’s hard to fault anything that Bungie has managed to achieve with The Final Shape, the extra time in the oven has proved beyond a measure of a doubt that Bungie wanted to close off their flagship franchises’ main story arc with a bang. Whilst this isn’t the end of Destiny 2 with episodic content following for the year (the Dreadnought is returning, wooo) those that do decide to call it quits here cannot say that it didn’t have a superb ending, that made all of the years of weathering through the game’s high and lows worth every second.

A PlayStation 5 review code was provided by Premier Comms.

The post Review – Destiny 2: The Final Shape (PlayStation 5) appeared first on GameHype.

Destiny 2’s first season of The Final Shape, titled Episode: Echoes, is in full swing now with its second Act being added to the game just recently. As is par for the course, Episode: Echoes has brought with it numerous weapons, both new and old, and these weapons all have God Rolls. Some weapons are great, others are not so great *cough* Faith-Keeper *cough*, but here are the God Rolls for each weapon that is a part of Episode: Echoes (including three guns that aren’t available just yet but are in the Destiny API). A few of these weapons have multiple choices for each column which will be listed, you can choose which of these combinations best suits your needs/playstyle in both PVE and PVP (where applicable).

Veiled Threat – Stasis Auto Rifle (Craftable)

This 720rpm Rapid Fire Frame Auto Rifle is the first weapon that this episode has to offer. While its perks aren’t the strongest, those who need a decent Stasis Auto Rifle can aim for one of these bad boys. For PVP I recommend using Arrowhead Break to bring in the weapon’s recoil pattern a little, but you can opt to use something like Hammer-Forged if you prefer the bump in range.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Stability	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Flared Magwell	Threat Detector	Surrounded / Headstone	Radiolaria Tranposer

PVP God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Arrowhead Break / Hammer-Forged Rifling	Accurized Rounds	To The Pain	Moving Target	Radiolaria Tranposer

Corrasion – Arc Pulse Rifle (Craftable)

Joining the new Heavy Burst Pulse Rifle family alongside the likes of Aisha’s Care from Trials of the Osiris and Nullify from Salvation’s Edge, Corrasion looks to prove that this type of auto rifle is king in PVE right now. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a Heavy Burst Pulse Rifle in PVP, but there are still options here should you choose to go down that route.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Stability	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Flared Magwell	Enlightened Action	Voltshot	Radiolaria Tranposer

PVP God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Accurized Rounds	Air Trigger / High Impact Reserves	High Ground / Eye of the Storm	Radiolaria Tranposer

Sightline Survey – Arc Hand Cannon (Craftable)

Precision Frame Hand Cannons aren’t exactly the strongest weapons in Destiny 2. They see little to no use in PVE, with a case being made for them in PVP with the Sightline Survey. Either way, PVE and PVP players alike should find various options here. For PVE, I would recommend Enlightened Action more than Triple Tap as it has more direct synergy with Voltshot, but either perk is good.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Flared Magwell	Enlightened Action /  Triple Tap	Voltshot	Radiolaria Tranposer

PVP God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Accurized Rounds	Air Trigger / Keep Away	Precision Instrument	Radiolaria Tranposer

Timeworn Wayfarer – Solar Scout Rifle (Craftable)

Joining the stylish but, for now, underpowered Tex Mechanica style Scout Rifle family is the Timeworn Wayfarer. While initially panned for being a member of the weakest family in one of the most consistently underwhelming primary weapon types in Destiny 2, this gun is surprisingly versatile and might see more use in PVE with the incoming buff to its damage. This weapon is incredibly potent in PVP when paired with High Ground and a Radiant buff, allowing the possibility of defeating opposing Guardians in two headshots. You can choose between Smallbore or Hammer-Forged Rifling for a PVP roll, as the latter has 7 less stability but will grant you an extra metre of range.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Stability	Smallbore / Fluted Barrel	Flared Magwell	Heal Clip	Incandescent	Radiolaria Tranposer

PVP God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Smallbore / Hammer-Forged Rifling	Accurized Rounds	Keep Away	High Ground	Radiolaria Tranposer

Aberrant Action – Solar Sidearm (Craftable)

The hottest weapon in the game right now, Aberrant Action is the third member of the relatively new family of Rocket-Assisted Frame Sidearms. This is THE weapon everyone wants as the archetype is incredibly strong right now. I do NOT recommend using this in PVP, so I will only be providing a PVE god roll for this weapon. There are a number of choices but there are a few quirks to be noted with this weapon. For starters, despite being a special weapon, perks like Strategist, Pugilist, and Demolitionist provide the benefit of a primary weapon, so rather than the 20% ability energy generation, it is 10%. Either way, there is one very clear winner here: Incandescent.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Velocity	Hard Launch	High-Explosive Ordnance	Heal Clip / Beacon Rounds	Incandescent	Radiolaria Tranposer

Chronophage – Void Trace Rifle (Craftable)

One of the few weapons that are currently not available at the time of writing, but are viewable in the Destiny API, this Void Trace Rifle looks to replace Hollow Denial which has been dominating its Void Trace Rifle field since Season of the Haunted back in 2022. Like Aberrant Action, I am not providing a PVP roll for this weapon as I don’t recommend bringing this thing into the Crucible.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Smallbore	Enhanced Battery	Repulsor Brace	Destabilizing Rounds	Radiolaria Tranposer

Faith-Keeper – Void Rocket Launcher (Craftable)

Look, not all weapons in each episode can be a banger, and Faith-Keeper immediately loses to stiff competition like the Apex Predator by proxy of its terrible archetype; Precision Frame Rocket Launcher. I honestly would not recommend bringing this into either PVP or PVE content, but if you did want to use this admittedly cool-looking rocket launcher, there is one roll that should have you covered (for PVE, not PVP).

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Velocity	Hard Launch	Impact Casing	Auto-Loading Holster	Lasting Impressions	Radiolaria Tranposer

Ill Omen – Stasis Sword (Craftable)

Swords are quite strong right now. They have proven to be useful in Salvation’s Edge, Crota’s End, and even Root of Nightmares if you are crazy enough. Unfortunately for Ill Omen, Caster Frame swords just are not very good. There is one niche for it, however, and that is as an Overload and Unstoppable Champion stun machine. I wouldn't recommend it over something like the Aurvandil FR6 which can have Reconstruction and Chill Clip, but if you are so inclined to muck around with this sword, there is something for you here. I don’t recommend this at all for PVP so I will only provide a PVE God Roll.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Blade	Guard	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Impact	Jagged Edge	Swordmaster’s Guard	Relentless Strikes	Cold Steel	Radiolaria Tranposer

Speleologist – Solar Machine Gun (Craftable)

One of the other few weapons that are currently not available, but are viewable in the Destiny API, the Speleoligist has some interesting perks and can potentially fit right in as your heavy add clear machine. I can’t recommend this for PVP as I currently have no idea how it handles, but I can’t imagine it would stack up compared to its competition in the same slot.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range / Stability	Smallbore	Flared Magwell	Enlightened Action / Envious Assassin	Incandescent / Killing Tally	Radiolaria Tranposer

Patron of Lost Causes – Kinetic Scout Rifle

The first of the reprised weapons from Shadowkeep’s Season of Dawn which are not craftable, this Kinetic Lightweight Frame Scout Rifle sees its perk pool revamped to include some more modern perks.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range / Stability	Smallbore	Flared Magwell	Triple Tap / Rapid Hit	Kinetic Tremors	Cast No Shadows

PVP God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Accurized Rounds	Rapid Hit	Precision Instrument	Cast No Shadows

Breachlight – Strand Sidearm

A fan favourite amongst the community, this reprised Season of Dawn Sidearm shows off its shiny new elemental typing, Strand. While regular Sidearms aren’t the strongest in PVE, there are some options here for you to have some fun. I do not recommend this weapon for PVP, as its perks do not seem to favour the Crucible sandbox, currently.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Smallbore	Flared Magwell	Demolitionist / Pugilist / Threat Detector	Adrenaline Junkie / Swashbuckler / Hatchling	Cast No Shadows

Perfect Paradox – Kinetic Shotgun

This slick shotgun sees a return but can only be looked at as an option for melee-oriented PVE builds, as Rapid Fire Frame Shotguns are not very good in the Crucible. There is still a roll here for those that don’t have a crafted Wastelander MK5 from Dares of Eternity. I would only pair Pugilist with Trench Barrel if you wish to use the former over something like Threat Detector/Remover which should be paired with One-Two Punch.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Full Choke	Accurized Rounds	Threat Detector / Threat Remover / Pugilist	One-Two Punch / Trench Barrel	Cast No Shadows

Martyr's Retribution – Solar Special Grenade Launcher

The first Solar Wave Frame that players will be able to obtain since Season of the Risen’s Explosive Personality, it seems that PVE players will finally have a PVE-oriented Solar Wave Frame Grenade Launcher. I do not recommend you use this in PVP as it will perform terribly in the current sandbox. This is the last of the few Episode: Echoes weapons that are currently not available.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Velocity	Hard Launcher	High-Velocity Rounds	Auto-Loading Holster / Envious Assassin / Heal Clip	Incandescent	Cast No Shadows

Line in the Sand – Arc Linear Fusion Rifle

Linear Fusion Rifles aren’t in the greatest place right now, and even if they were there would be a lot of very stiff competition for Line in the Sand. Regardless, there is hope for this Linear Fusion Rifle, with one perk in particular ensuring that it isn’t wholly left behind.

PVE God Roll

Masterwork	Barrel	Mag	3rd Column	4th Column	Origin Trait
Range	Hammer-Forged Rifling	Ionized Battery / Enhanced Battery	Rapid Hit / Clown Cartridge	Bait and Switch	Cast No Shadows

With that, we have all the weapons that should be a part of Episode: Echoes. Be sure to get those red borders for the Vex-themed weapons so you can enhance their perks!

Following the news of significant layoffs at Bungie earlier this week, there’s been a lot of further reporting on what this means for the company’s future and how they’ve ended up in this place. Senior staff have left, a new Destiny game has reportedly been cancelled, and many have called for CEO Pete Parsons to quit for mismanaging the company over the last few years.

The layoffs were announced on Wednesday by Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, with 220 of the company’s 1300 headcount losing their jobs, while a further 155 would be able to move across to the wider PlayStation business, and around 40 to form a new studio and take on an incubation project. That’s roughly a third of the company’s workforce, and follows on from 100 employees losing their jobs last October, leaving the new headcount at around 850 employees.

As part of this, it’s reported that key Bungie figures from Destiny 2’s early revival have departed the company. Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy have apparently left (per Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess Decides podcast) following the cancellation of their Destiny spin-off game, codenamed Payback. This had been reported as being Destiny 3, but as is often the case, further details are leaked once people are no longer employed, and Jason Schreier’s sources state it was not a direct sequel, and actually cancelled some time ago.

The layoffs have been met with a lot of shock from outside viewers, given the very positive reception of Destiny 2: The Final Shape. Bungie had delayed the expansion’s release in an effort to come back from failing to meet financial expectations with the previous year’s Lightfall, and by all accounts, The Final Shape was the narrative finale that Destiny needed and deserved.

However, Stephen Totilo reports that the deep job cuts were planned to happen regardless of the reception or success of The Final Shape. The need for job cuts was only made worse by The Final Shape having “sold less than Lightfall”, despite its positive reception. As Parsons stated in the job cuts announcement, “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red.”

Since that announcement, a lot of anger has been directed at Parsons personally for his decision making, leadership and level of accountability. Parsons claimed that the leadership team “did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome,” but there have been various former employees calling for Parsons to quit, especially with anecdotes about him inviting them to view his personal car collection – a collection that has been found on car bidding site Bring A Trailer, and which shows a total value of $2.4 million, over $450,000 of which came since October 2023, the time of the first wave of layoffs.

Anyone else remember the time that Nintendo’s President took a 50% pay cut?

There’s also analysis of how this ties back into Sony’s 2022 acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion. Speaking to Totilo, an anonymous former Bungie insider said, “I think Sony overpaid for Bungie. I think Bungie sold things they were just not able to deliver.” The company had seemingly overstated their earning potential, while courting Sony as a buyer.

And Parsons is again going to be in the spotlight for that, as part of the 2022 acquisition was that Bungie would remain autonomous. That autonomy reportedly came into threat last year as Bungie started to miss financial targets, which was seemingly a driving factor behind layoffs late last year, so the company leadership could try to retain control.

Bungie is remaining committed to supporting Destiny 2 going forward and the development of extraction shooter Marathon, but the company’s future still feels uncertain. Jeff Grubb is claiming that, in time, Sony will take over control of Bungie’s management, similar to all other developers owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Bungie has announced it is laying off 220 staff, approximately 17% of its workforce, across all levels of the company including leadership roles. Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie, has released a long statement for the reasons why 220 will be losing their jobs at the development studio. This includes the economic downturn of recent years, and costs relating to Destiny 2 and Marathon exceeding the financial limits of the company.

Pete Parsons has also confirmed that Bungie will become more integrated into Sony Interactive Entertainment, with 12% of roles being moved over to Sony. In addition, Bungie is spinning off a yet unnamed project into PlayStation Studios with the establishment of a new studio to continue work on the project. The full statement can be read below.

This morning, I’m sharing with all of you some of the most difficult changes we’ve ever had to make as a studio. Due to rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions, it has become clear that we need to make substantial changes to our cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon.  

That means beginning today, 220 of our roles will be eliminated, representing roughly 17% of our studio’s workforce.   

These actions will affect every level of the company, including most of our executive and senior leader roles.     

Today is a difficult and painful day, especially for our departing colleagues, all of which have made important and valuable contributions to Bungie. Our goal is to support them with the utmost care and respect. For everyone affected by this job reduction, we will be offering a generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage.  

I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape. But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials. 

We are committing to two other major changes today that we believe will support our focus, leverage Sony’s strengths, and create new opportunities for Bungie talent.   

First, we are deepening our integration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 of our roles, roughly 12%, into SIE over the next few quarters. SIE has worked tirelessly with us to identify roles for as many of our people as possible, enabling us together to save a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force.     

Second, we are working with PlayStation Studios leadership to spin out one of our incubation projects – an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe – to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios to continue its promising development.   

This will be a time of tremendous change for our studio.  

Let’s unpack how we ended up in this position; it’s important to understand how we got here. 

For over five years, it has been our goal to ship games in three enduring, global franchises. To realize that ambition, we set up several incubation projects, each seeded with senior development leaders from our existing teams. We eventually realized that this model stretched our talent too thin, too quickly.  It also forced our studio support structures to scale to a larger level than we could realistically support, given our two primary products in development – Destiny and Marathon.  

Additionally, in 2023, our rapid expansion ran headlong into a broad economic slowdown, a sharp downturn in the games industry, our quality miss with Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the need to give both The Final Shape and Marathon the time needed to ensure both projects deliver at the quality our players expect and deserve. We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red. 

After this new trajectory became clear, we knew we had to change our course and speed, and we did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome. Even with exhaustive efforts undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve our financial challenges, these steps were simply not enough.   

As a result, today we must say goodbye to incredible talent, colleagues, and friends. 

This will be a challenging time at Bungie, and we’ll need to help our team navigate these changes in the weeks and months ahead. This will be a hard week, and we know that our team will need time to process, to ask questions, and to absorb this news. Today, and over the next several weeks, we will host team meetings and town halls, team breakout sessions, and private, individual sessions to ensure we are keeping our communication open and transparent.  

Bungie will continue to make great games. We still have over 850 team members building Destiny and Marathon, and we will continue to build amazing experiences that exceed our players’ expectations.    

There will be a time to talk about our goals and projects, but today is not that day. Today, our focus is on supporting our people.  

-pete 

Source: Bungie

A damning new report claims that Bungie mislead Sony about its financial position ahead of its acquisition by PlayStation. The studio’s management has come under scrutiny following a second round of mass layoffs within a year that didn’t even spare long-time senior executives. Now, many former employees are laying the blame solely on CEO Pete Parsons.

Sony spent $3.6 billion acquiring Bungie — was it worth it?

The aforementioned report comes from veteran journalist Stephen Totilo, who spoke to former Bungie employees to get to the bottom of things. At least one of them addressed what many analysts and the gaming community have been left puzzled by: Sony spending $3.6 billion to acquire the studio.

The employee reckons that Sony overpaid for Bungie after the studio misled the PlayStation maker by selling “things they were just not able to deliver.” While Destiny 2: The Final Shape has been widely praised, Totilo has been told that the latest cuts were being planned long before the expansion released.

What’s even more interesting is that it seems Bungie was a bit desperate to strike a deal with Sony. One of Totilo’s sources said that if Bungie hadn’t been acquired, it may have gone bankrupt. “The alternate history is insolvency,” they said.

NEW: I spoke to ex-Bungie workers about yesterday’s big cuts

– This round was in the works prior to Final Shape
– Feeling is Bungie bosses oversold studio to Sony
– Not selling would’ve been worse? Source: “The alternate history is insolvency”

My story:https://t.co/QXm0qzeSQ8

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) August 1, 2024

Bungie had thousands of employees at one point, which have now been reduced to 850 following the latest round of cuts. The studio hasn’t released anything outside of Destiny and its sequel over the last decade, and has gone through high-profile splits with both Microsoft and Activision in the past.

It has also emerged that senior Destiny executives Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy have been let go. Suffice to say, the common denominator here is Bungie’s management.

The post Bungie Misled Sony About Its Financial Position Ahead of Acquisition – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Last of Us Multiplayer game’s cancellation may have partially been triggered by some ‘helpful’ and honest feedback that Bungie provided Naughty Dog. That’s according to journalist Jason Schreier, who had previously said that Bungie’s internal review of the multiplayer project led Naughty Dog to re-evaluate things.

Bungie didn’t demand the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer

Schreier made his comment in response to a follower on X who had misconstrued his original report. The user claimed that Bungie “told” Naughty Dog to cancel TLOU multiplayer, and bemoaned that a studio with few acclaimed games would dictate Naughty Dog, a developer known for making highly-rated games.

In the conversation that followed, Schreier clarified that Bungie provided “helpful” feedback to Naughty Dog, who then made the “smart” decision to cancel TLOU multiplayer.

That's not what happened

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 1, 2024

People lamenting this cancellation should really look at the history of single-player studios pivoting to make service games such as Anthem, Suicide Squad, Marvel's Avengers, Redfall, and so on

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 1, 2024

It’s hard to disagree with Schreier here. Naughty Dog’s expertise certainly isn’t live service, and dedicating resources to the project may have backfired and bled money. Although TLOU fans would have liked an online aspect similar to TLOU 1, that was never supposed to be the series’ main attraction.

Times have changed, and slapping on multiplayer portions to primarily single-player games is mostly a thing of the past.

The post The Last of Us Multiplayer Cancellation Was Triggered by Bungie Feedback appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Last April, a Redditor who claims to have connections with former Bungie devs raised a few eyebrows with initial details of a Destiny 3-style project codenamed Payback; there was bare little information beyond the fact that a classless system was the main hook while this tipster wasn’t sure whether the game was even in development […]

It was already assumed that layoffs of 220 workers that hit Destiny 2 developer Bungie were a result of executive mismanagement, but now there are insider reports from Game File that further paint a picture of a studio that, according to one source, “sold things they were just not able to deliver.” While the feeling […]

Bungie is laying off 220 developers. That's 17% of its overall headcount.

Bungie boss Pete Parsons says the cuts are needed "to make substantial changes to our cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon."

"This morning, I’m sharing with all of you some of the most difficult changes we’ve ever had to make as a studio," Parsons wrote in a statement posted to the studios' official website.

Read more

Bungie is no longer working on Payback, a new project set in the Destiny universe once overseen by franchise bosses Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy.

That's according to reporting by Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who all state that Smith and Noseworthy are also now no longer at Bungie.

Details of Payback leaked online back in April, when it was described as "Destiny 3". There were questions at the time over whether the project was still in development. Now, Schreier has confirmed that Payback was more of a spin-off, and was cancelled "a while ago".

Read more

Following yesterday's mass layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie - in which 220 employees lost their jobs - a new report has claimed the cuts were a result of Bungie leadership 'overstating the studio's financial prospects' to Sony, which acquired the developer in 2022.

That's according to sources interviewed by journalist Stephen Totilo, who, writing in his GameFile newsletter, reports yesterday's job cuts were necessary to stem Bungie's continued financial losses. The studio is said to have repeatedly missed financial targets promised to Sony, and has reportedly lost money since the release of Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall in 2023.

Totilo claims yesterday's layoffs - the second round of job cuts in less than a year - had long been planned, and "couldn't be avoided" even if this year's Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, had "blockbuster performance". Bungie management reportedly concluded last year - amid poor sales and a dwindling Destiny 2 player base - it would need to "make deep cuts to show Sony's executives that it was taking its finances seriously", with the studio's autonomy - and management jobs - seemingly on the line if it failed to meet its targets.

Read more

Following news of yesterday's layoffs at Bungie, CEO Pete Parsons has faced criticised from staff for spending millions on classic cars since the studio was purchased by Sony in 2022 and bragging about his lavish collection, as the company headed towards this week's latest brutal round of job losses.

Employees - some of whom are now unemployed - have shared links to an array of classic cars purchased via the Bring a Trailer website, with Parsons profile public and listing a vast number of auction wins. The earliest was in September 2022 costing $34,000; the most recent was 1st June this year costing $91,500, just a month before these latest layoffs. "How exciting!" wrote Parsons in a comment. "I have wanted a c1 since I was a little kid. My second hot wheel ever (in gold). Going to its forever home."

Parsons spent $79,000 on a vehicle in October 2023 just ahead of the previous layoffs, followed by three more purchases over the remainder of the year - including a Porsche costing over $200k. In total, Parsons appears to have spent $2,414,550 on vehicles.

Read more

Current and former employees of Destiny 2 developer Bungie have responded to the news of devastating layoffs at the studio - which has seen 220 employees lose their jobs - aiming harsh criticism at the handling of the cuts amid calls for Bungie CEO Pete Parsons to resign.

Parsons announced the studio would be laying off approximately 17 percent of its workforce earlier today, blaming "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions." The news marks the second round of job cuts at the studio in less than a year, with approximately 100 employees having been laid off last October.

Following this latest round of job cuts, former and current Bungie employees took to social media to lambast the decision. Destiny 2's global community lead Dylan Gafner (AKA dmg04) called the move "inexcusable" in a post on X. "Industry leading talent being lost, yet again," he wrote. "Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again."

Read more

Destiny developer Bungie has laid off another 220 staff, representing roughly 17 percent of the studio's workforce.

In October last year, the studio laid off 100 staff from its then 1200-strong workforce. That means Bungie has laid off around a quarter of its workforce in the past nine months.

The news was shared today in a blog post from Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, describing the decision as "some of the most difficult changes we've ever had to make as a studio".

Read more

Některé zprávy v posledních měsících tvrdily, že Bungie pracuje na Destiny 3 pod kódovým označením Payback, ale bezprostředně po dalším brutálním kole hromadného propouštění ve studiu se objevily nové informace, které naznačují opak.

V nedávno zveřejněné zprávě agentury Bloomberg novinář Jason Schreier tvrdí, že Payback – což byl spinoff, nikoli Destiny 3 – bylo Bungie zrušeno před dvěma měsíci.

Podle Schreiera však Destiny 3 není ve vývoji a zatím se na něm ani nepracuje. I když samozřejmě existuje možnost, že se studio někdy v budoucnu pustí do práce na dalším číslovaném přírůstku do hlavní řady Destiny, podle zprávy zůstává jeho současným zaměřením Destiny 2.

Přesněji řečeno, Bungie se prý místo toho soustředí na „hladší nástupní proces“ pro Destiny 2. Lootovací střílečka si v průběhu let vysloužila rostoucí kritiku za to, že je pro čerstvé hráče příliš nepřístupná, ale Bungie doufá, že se mu do budoucna podaří přilákat do hry více nováčků.

V souvislosti s tím se také tvrdí, že studio mění svou obsahovou strategii pro Destiny 2, což bude znamenat nahrazení každoročních rozsáhlých rozšíření menšími aktualizacemi obsahu.

Článek Destiny 3 není (a nikdy nebylo) ve vývoji se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

We've known for some time now that things are going to meaningfully change for Destiny 2 in Year 11, with the start of what is currently known as Frontiers. A recent leak, however, alleges some hugely unpopular changes for Destiny 2's content model, and players are already skeptical of it.

These leaks about Destiny 2 came about very recently, alleging that Bungie is moving the game away from the current model (one yearly DLC with 3-4 seasons/episodes) to something lighter and easier to maintain. It would purportedly consist of two smaller DLCs and two seasons per year, with a lessened focus on narrative progression in lieu of activities, loot, and pure gameplay. This is too little information to go on - even if it is true - but the players are already a fair bit worried about what it might mean about Destiny's future.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1ejxps4/call_me_a_boomer_but_destiny_without_a_story/

If the leaked plans for Destiny 2 are true, players won't be happy about it

The biggest source of concern for the community is the leaker's claim that there will be no more "week-to-week story beats or story released all at once." Instead, we'd be getting only "one intro mission explaining the 'why' of the Season. That's it," they claim. "Only thing other than that is traditional character banter throughout the [seasonal] activity." A non-insignificant number of players are extremely unhappy about this potentially being true.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1ejxps4/comment/lggyunk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Some players, specifically, believe that Bungie is attempting to turn Destiny 2 into a "lobby simulator" such as Fortnite and/or Apex Legends. This, presumably, refers to the fact that these games don't put any meaningful emphasis on their lore and story development, opting instead to go all-in on gameplay. It's not a decision without practical merit, to be sure, as keeping the Destiny story going is no mean feat. Yet, the story was a crucial reason as to why some players kept coming back to the game in the first place. I, myself, find the leaks worrying, if they're true.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1ejxps4/comment/lggqigq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

It is, perhaps, surprising just how many Destiny 2 players have chimed in on this thread saying that they're still playing the game almost exclusively due to the story. Then again, Bungie's had a serious knack for out-there narrative developments for decades now, from Pathways Into Darkness onwards, and there's potential here for the studio to alienate its oldest fans if Destiny 2 does end up turning into a "lobby simulator" in the end.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1ejxps4/comment/lggy072/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Now, to be perfectly fair, it wouldn't be the first time that we've seen a wildly popular Destiny 2 leak end up being a total wash in the end. Moreover, even if these leaks are all true, Bungie could end up injecting enough Grimoire-style content every season that the narrative ends up trucking along at a reasonable pace.

Personally, I feel the bigger problem is that Bungie has lost a full third of its staff very recently, including some key veteran staff such as Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy. The studio claims that this won't affect Destiny 2 in the slightest, but I find that very hard to believe. The fact of the matter is that Bungie hasn't told us virtually anything about Frontiers yet, and so it's not hard to see why the community might be worried about it, given what's been happening as of late. It's an uncertain time to be a Destiny fan, that's for sure.

The post The Destiny 2 community is worried over leaked plans for its future appeared first on Destructoid.

Bungie is going through a rough patch as of late (again), and it's important to remember just how good Destiny 2: The Final Shape was. The introduction of Luzaku, the friendly Lucent Hive, stands out in particular, and the person responsible was caught by the latest round of layoffs.

Featured as part of the excellent Destined Heroes questline in The Final Shape, Luzaku was a Lucent Hive wizard who the Guardian comes across while exploring the Blooming Deep lost sector of the Pale Heart. Whereas Lucent Hive are usually extremely hostile towards Guardians and other aligned forces, Luzaku goes in the opposite direction, and we can thank Bungie's former narrative designer Robert Brookes for this experience. Brookes joined forces with The Final Shape's activity designer Sang Kim to come up with something wholly original for a particular lost sector.

As per Brookes' recent thread on Twitter - which was graciously posted in full on Reddit by Ryan_WXH - he "immediately realized [Luzaku] could be a Mithrax moment" for the DLC. Mithrax, too, first made an appearance in the original Red War campaign of Destiny 2 as a tenuous potential ally on Titan.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1ekaa4m/former_narrative_designer_robert_brookes_shares/

A former Destiny 2 narrative designer explains how Luzaku came to be

"First problem was Luzaku was an acolyte and not a wizard, but a wizard is what worked for the gameplay space. So being a good partner to design I found a way to make Sang's idea work by revisiting the idea of hive morphs," Brooks explains. "Having Luzaku be changed from an acolyte to a wizard after the ship she was infiltrating passed through the threshold into the Pale Heart felt like a further exploration of the concepts of identity and transformation we explore with the Traveler."

In other words, Brookes quickly connected the dots between what was necessary for The Final Shape gameplay and lore-wise, and what was present in Destiny 2's prior, established canon. Extrapolating Luzaku's presence from that point onwards was just a matter of scope, and Brooks almost had to stop at having a "Lucent Hive wizard with a nameplate" in the campaign.

Thankfully, Brooks saw an opportunity to incorporate some extra voice-work into the DLC almost by accident, and the only thing he had to figure out was who could voice Luzaku in the first place.

"So in came Kirstin Potter (Mara Sov) who we've never had play another character. She was THRILLED to take on a new role, especially a weird role! I created an identity for Luzaku, a unique manner of speech to differentiate her from other Hive and the rest is history," explains Brookes.

Brooks also gave shout-outs to the original creator of Luzaku (via the Lucent Tales lore book from Witch Queen), Crystal Frasier, as well as audio designer Matt Vankleeck. The latter, as Brookes explains, was laid off alongside him during Bungie's recent firing spree.

If you're even remotely interested in learning more about Luzaku and, indeed, Lucent Hive and Destiny lore in general, it may be good to hit up Robert Brookes on Twitter, as he's very personable and interested in engaging with the fans of the game. He's been discussing the Season of the Seraph as well, and his responses are just an absolute treasure-trove for a fan of Destiny at large.

The post Former Destiny 2 narrative designer explains how the friendly Hive wizard, Luzaku, came to life appeared first on Destructoid.

Bungie is no longer working on Payback, a new project set in the Destiny universe once overseen by franchise bosses Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy.

That's according to reporting by Gamespot's Tamoor Hussain, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who all state that Smith and Noseworthy are also now no longer at Bungie.

Details of Payback leaked online back in April, when it was described as "Destiny 3". There were questions at the time over whether the project was still in development. Now, Schreier has confirmed that Payback was more of a spin-off, and was cancelled "a while ago".

Read more

Following yesterday's mass layoffs at Destiny 2 developer Bungie - in which 220 employees lost their jobs - a new report has claimed the cuts were a result of Bungie leadership 'overstating the studio's financial prospects' to Sony, which acquired the developer in 2022.

That's according to sources interviewed by journalist Stephen Totilo, who, writing in his GameFile newsletter, reports yesterday's job cuts were necessary to stem Bungie's continued financial losses. The studio is said to have repeatedly missed financial targets promised to Sony, and has reportedly lost money since the release of Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall in 2023.

Totilo claims yesterday's layoffs - the second round of job cuts in less than a year - had long been planned, and "couldn't be avoided" even if this year's Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, had "blockbuster performance". Bungie management reportedly concluded last year - amid poor sales and a dwindling Destiny 2 player base - it would need to "make deep cuts to show Sony's executives that it was taking its finances seriously", with the studio's autonomy - and management jobs - seemingly on the line if it failed to meet its targets.

Read more

Following news of yesterday's layoffs at Bungie, CEO Pete Parsons has faced criticised from staff for spending millions on classic cars since the studio was purchased by Sony in 2022 and bragging about his lavish collection, as the company headed towards this week's latest brutal round of job losses.

Employees - some of whom are now unemployed - have shared links to an array of classic cars purchased via the Bring a Trailer website, with Parsons profile public and listing a vast number of auction wins. The earliest was in September 2022 costing $34,000; the most recent was 1st June this year costing $91,500, just a month before these latest layoffs. "How exciting!" wrote Parsons in a comment. "I have wanted a c1 since I was a little kid. My second hot wheel ever (in gold). Going to its forever home."

Parsons spent $79,000 on a vehicle in October 2023 just ahead of the previous layoffs, followed by three more purchases over the remainder of the year - including a Porsche costing over $200k. In total, Parsons appears to have spent $2,414,550 on vehicles.

Read more

Current and former employees of Destiny 2 developer Bungie have responded to the news of devastating layoffs at the studio - which has seen 220 employees lose their jobs - aiming harsh criticism at the handling of the cuts amid calls for Bungie CEO Pete Parsons to resign.

Parsons announced the studio would be laying off approximately 17 percent of its workforce earlier today, blaming "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions." The news marks the second round of job cuts at the studio in less than a year, with approximately 100 employees having been laid off last October.

Following this latest round of job cuts, former and current Bungie employees took to social media to lambast the decision. Destiny 2's global community lead Dylan Gafner (AKA dmg04) called the move "inexcusable" in a post on X. "Industry leading talent being lost, yet again," he wrote. "Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again."

Read more

Destiny developer Bungie has laid off another 220 staff, representing roughly 17 percent of the studio's workforce.

In October last year, the studio laid off 100 staff from its then 1200-strong workforce. That means Bungie has laid off around a quarter of its workforce in the past nine months.

The news was shared today in a blog post from Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, describing the decision as "some of the most difficult changes we've ever had to make as a studio".

Read more

Společnost Bungie nedávno oznámila, že propouští 220 lidí, dalších 155 lidí přechází do PlayStationu a další část zaměstnanců se vyčleňuje do samostatného nového studia.

Pro studio, které se již loni v říjnu potýkalo s dalším rozsáhlým propouštěním, v jehož rámci bylo zrušeno zhruba 100 pozic, se jedná o výrazné škrty. V příspěvku oznamujícím nejnovější kolo propouštění připsal generální ředitel Bungie Pete Parsons problémy studia jeho velkým ambicím a novinář Stephen Totilo ve svém zpravodaji Game File to s odvoláním na několik anonymních zdrojů dále osvětlil.

Za problémy Bungie údajně může především skutečnost, že vedení studia možná přeprodalo zejména jeho finanční vyhlídky. „Myslím, že Sony za Bungie přeplatilo,“ uvedl jeden ze zdrojů. „Myslím, že Bungie prodávalo věci, které nebylo schopno dodat.“

Tvrdí se, že Bungie opakovaně nesplnilo interní fiskální cíle stanovené společností Sony – což tvrdily i předchozí zprávy – a že studio od uvedení hry Destiny 2: Lightfall v roce 2023 trvale prodělávalo. Výše zmíněné říjnové propouštění bylo údajně provedeno ve snaze ukázat výkonným pracovníkům Sony, že studio podniká seriózní kroky k nápravě své finanční situace, ale zpráva tvrdí, že i vedení Bungie bylo srozuměno s tím, že škrty jsou nedostatečné.

Poslední kolo propouštění proto vedení studia plánovalo už od prvních měsíců roku 2024, tvrdí zpráva. I kdyby prý Destiny 2: The Final Shape zaznamenalo obrovský komerční úspěch, nestačilo by to k tomu, aby studio odvrátilo nutnost hromadného propouštění.

Loni se objevily zprávy, že pokud Destiny 2: The Final Shape nedosáhne dobrých výsledků, povede to pravděpodobně k dalšímu propouštění ve společnosti Bungie. Mimochodem, Totilo také uvádí, že The Final Shape se při uvedení na trh prodával hůře než loňský Lightfall.

Bývalí i současní zaměstnanci se obecně domnívají, že vedení Bungie je zodpovědné za špatné hospodaření studia a že ani prodej Sony by pro něj nebyl o moc lepší alternativou.

„Alternativní historií je platební neschopnost,“ uvedl jeden ze zdrojů.

Společnost Bungie uvedla, že neočekává „žádné narušení všech našich dříve oznámených obsahových plánů“ pro Destiny.

Článek Bungie říká, že „nadhodnotila finanční vyhlídky“ společnosti Sony si vyžádaly hluboké škrty a propouštění se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Zprávy z posledních měsíců naznačovaly, že společnosti Bungie reálně hrozí další kolo hromadného propouštění, a to se bohužel skutečně stalo. Studio vlastněné společností PlayStation oznámilo, že ruší dalších 220 pracovních míst, přičemž již loni v rámci dalšího kola propouštění zrušilo přibližně 100 pozic.

To je zhruba 17 procent všech zaměstnanců studia, i když to není rozsah změn v Bungie. Ačkoli si společnost od své akvizice zachovala nebývalou míru autonomie v rámci PlayStation, některé zprávy tvrdily, že Bungie hrozí ztráta statusu nezávislé dceřiné společnosti v rámci Sony, a zdá se, že tyto změny nyní vstupují v platnost.

V prohlášení zveřejněném na oficiálních stránkách Bungie generální ředitel Pete Parsons uvedl, že studio „prohloubí naši integraci se společností Sony Interactive Entertainment“, v jejímž rámci bude v průběhu několika příštích čtvrtletí do systému PlayStation převedeno přibližně 155 pozic z Bungie (tedy přibližně 12 % zaměstnanců).

„SIE s námi neúnavně spolupracovala, aby identifikovala role pro co nejvíce našich lidí, což nám umožnilo společně zachránit velké množství talentů, kteří by jinak byli postiženi snížením počtu zaměstnanců,“ píše Parsons.

Kromě toho společnosti Bungie a PlayStation zakládají nové first-party studio, které bude pracovat na jednom z inkubačních projektů – nové akční sci-fi hře. Více se o tom dočtete zde.

Ve své aktualizaci Parsons hovořil o tom, co si vůbec vyžádalo nové kolo propouštění a snižování počtu pracovních pozic, a přiznal, že studio bylo „příliš ambiciózní“, přičemž uvedl i další faktory, jako jsou ekonomické podmínky, výpadek Destiny 2: Lightfall a další.

„Již více než pět let je naším cílem dodávat hry ve třech trvalých globálních sériích,“ řekl Parsons. „Abychom tuto ambici uskutečnili, založili jsme několik inkubačních projektů, z nichž každý byl osazen vedoucími vývojáři z našich stávajících týmů. Nakonec jsme si uvědomili, že tento model příliš rychle vyčerpává naše talenty.Také to nutilo naše podpůrné struktury studia rozšířit na větší úroveň, než jsme byli schopni reálně podporovat, vzhledem k našim dvěma hlavním produktům ve vývoji – Destiny a Marathon.

„V roce 2023 se navíc naše rychlá expanze střetla s rozsáhlým ekonomickým zpomalením, prudkým poklesem herního průmyslu, chybějící kvalitou hry Destiny 2: Lightfall a potřebou věnovat oběma projektům, The Final Shape a Marathon, potřebný čas, abychom zajistili, že oba projekty budou v takové kvalitě, jakou naši hráči očekávají a jakou si zaslouží. Byli jsme příliš ambiciózní, naše finanční bezpečnostní rezervy byly následně překročeny a začali jsme se pohybovat v červených číslech.

„Poté, co se tato nová trajektorie stala jasnou, jsme věděli, že musíme změnit kurz a rychlost, a udělali jsme vše pro to, abychom se dnešnímu výsledku vyhnuli. I přes vyčerpávající úsilí vynaložené napříč naším vedením a produktovými týmy na vyřešení našich finančních problémů tyto kroky jednoduše nestačily.

„Proto se dnes musíme rozloučit s neuvěřitelným talentem, kolegy a přáteli.“

Po této sérii významných změn a propouštění bude ve společnosti Bungie pracovat celkem zhruba 850 zaměstnanců, což je přibližně o 1300 méně než dříve. Parsons říká, že práce na Destiny a Marathonu pokračují rychlým tempem.

Článek Bungie propouští dalších 220 lidí a „prohlubuje integraci“ s PlayStationem se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Ve studiu Bungie došlo k dalšímu výraznému propouštění – 220 lidí bylo propuštěno a několik stovek dalších rolí bylo přesunuto na PlayStation, i když to není celý rozsah změn, které studio zavádí.

Generální ředitel Pete Parsons v aktualizaci zveřejněné na webových stránkách studia oznámil, že Bungie a PlayStation zakládají nové first-party studio, které převezme vývoj jednoho z inkubačních projektů Bungie – nové akční sci-fi.

Podle novináře Jasona Schreiera přejde z Bungie do nového studia zhruba 75 lidí. Podrobnosti o tomto projektu jsou v současné době kusé, ale podle dřívějších zpráv se na něm pracuje pod kódovým označením Gummy Bears a jedná se o týmový akční titul s odlehčeným a komediálním tónem.

Bližší informace o projektu ani o samotném novém studiu nejsou v současné době k dispozici, ale společnost Sony je pravděpodobně včas oficiálně oznámí. Zůstaňte naladěni na další aktualizace.

Článek PlayStation zakládá nové studio, které bude pracovat na nové akční sci-fi od Bungie se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Další akt první epizody Destiny 2, Echoes, vychází dnes, 16. července. Společnost Bungie vydala nový trailer, který propaguje další sadu příběhových aktivit. Vedle dalších potyček proti Vexům teasuje setkání s tajemným Dirigentem.

Druhý akt představuje tři nová bojiště na Nessu, od povrchu až po hlubiny s radiolarijskými vodopády. Hráči si mohou odemknout dvě nové zbraně – Aberrant Action, solární raketovou boční zbraň, která by měla představovat slušnou alternativu k The Call, a Corrasion, obloukovou pulzní pušku. Přibudou také nové artefaktové perky, které způsobí, že přesné zásahy solárními sniperkami spálí cíle a zážehy způsobí větší poškození v širším okruhu.

Při vydání druhého aktu dojde také k novým úpravám vyvážení a opravám chyb, takže zůstaňte naladěni na úplné poznámky k patchi.

Destiny 2 je k dispozici pro konzole Xbox One, Xbox řady X/S, PS4, PS5 a PC.

Článek Destiny 2 Episode 1: Echoes – Act 2 Trailer představuje nové zbraně, bojiště a další novinky se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

It’s been a helluva week for video games, with mass layoffs at Destiny 2 studio Bungie, and a few hands-ons for upcoming high-profile releases like Marvel Rivals and Star Wars Outlaws. As usual, we weighed in on the goings-on of the week, so click through to read all of our big opinions and spicy takes.

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This week, Destiny 2 maker Bungie was hit by massive layoffs, leaving the future of the company’s popular looter shooter in some doubt and spurring waves of criticism of its CEO, who remains at the studio. We also saw streamer Dr Disrespect once again posting online, just 36 days after he confessed to sending…

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The last two months has been a rollercoaster ride for Destiny 2 fans, from the heights of the critically-acclaimed Final Shape expansion to the depths of downsizing at the studio that made it and reports of major shifts and abandoned ambitions for the sci-fi MMO. Destiny 2 will continue, maybe even more sustainably,…

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I always tell people that I’ve been with Destiny since the first alpha test. For some reason, it’s always been a point of pride for me. My own way of saying, “Hey, I’ve been behind this vision since the beginning. I’ve been there through the highs and the lows, and I’m still here.” But following a second round of…

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Sony purchased Bungie, the original studio behind Halo and the maker of Destiny 2, for a whopping $3.6 billion in 2022. Following the sale, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons purchased over 20 classic cars in online auctions costing millions of dollars, according to his account on the website Bring A Trailer. He continued buying…

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Today, Bungie announced that it was laying off 220 employees, or approximately 17 percent of its workforce. The news, which comes on the heels of a successful expansion launch with Destiny 2: The Final Shape in June and another round of layoffs late last year, has prompted former employees and players alike to…

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Bungie have reportedly cancelled Payback, an unannounced project in the Destiny universe from former Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith and project lead Mark Noseworthy. Both Noseworthy and Smith appear to have lost their jobs in the course of Bungie's brutal cost-cutting this week, but Payback's cancellation pre-dates the layoffs. Envisaged as a Destiny spin-off, rather than Destiny 3, it was apparently dropped "a while ago".

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This week's mass layoffs at Destiny studio Bungie were planned out months ago, former employees have told journalist Stephen Totilo at Game File (paywalled). According to Totilo, Bungie leadership "overstated their studio’s financial prospects to Sony" after the latter bought Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion. The latest cuts were necessary to prevent continued losses, says the report, after Bungie missed Sony’s targets following the release of last year’s Lightfall.

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Destiny and Marathon developers Bungie are laying off 220 people - around 17% of their total workforce - as studio heads try to offset a financial crisis brought on by "overly ambitious" expansion, individual project "misfires", and a wider economic downturn in 2023. Bungie are also transferring a further 155 roles to parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, and are spinning out an untitled incubation project - an "action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe" - to form a new PlayStation studio.

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Bungie have reportedly cancelled Payback, an unannounced project in the Destiny universe from former Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith and project lead Mark Noseworthy. Both Noseworthy and Smith appear to have lost their jobs in the course of Bungie's brutal cost-cutting this week, but Payback's cancellation pre-dates the layoffs. Envisaged as a Destiny spin-off, rather than Destiny 3, it was apparently dropped "a while ago".

Read more

This week's mass layoffs at Destiny studio Bungie were planned out months ago, former employees have told journalist Stephen Totilo at Game File (paywalled). According to Totilo, Bungie leadership "overstated their studio’s financial prospects to Sony" after the latter bought Bungie in 2022 for $3.6 billion. The latest cuts were necessary to prevent continued losses, says the report, after Bungie missed Sony’s targets following the release of last year’s Lightfall.

Read more

Destiny and Marathon developers Bungie are laying off 220 people - around 17% of their total workforce - as studio heads try to offset a financial crisis brought on by "overly ambitious" expansion, individual project "misfires", and a wider economic downturn in 2023. Bungie are also transferring a further 155 roles to parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, and are spinning out an untitled incubation project - an "action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe" - to form a new PlayStation studio.

Read more

A Destiny spinoff has been cancelled, allegedly resulting in the departure of two Bungie veterans.

Bungie is facing another round of layoffs, this time hitting 17% of its workforce.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has disabled rewards generated in private Crucible matches because of "an issue".

Whilst the studio stopped short of revealing what, exactly, that issue is, Destiny 2 fans believe it has to do with a glitch that enables players to farm a whole host of items and consumables in private matches, even if they're away from their consoles/PCs.

As detailed in a video by Cheese Forever, the "game breaking" farm "will give you everything you ever wanted, and you don't even need to move".

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Hra Destiny 2 od společnosti Bungie zažila výjimečný týden s vydáním rozšíření The Final Shape, od nezapomenutelné kampaně až po výjimečný raid. Co však kromě nedávno přidané exotické mise Dual Destiny čeká dál?

Kromě epizody 1: Echoes se 18. června dočkáme i Excision s obtížností Grandmaster.

V nejnovější zprávě „This Week at Destiny“ se o této misi hovoří jako o „velmi těžké“, ale odměna za její splnění „bude stát za to“. Samozřejmě, pokud chcete získat XP, zvýšit úroveň svých vyrobených zbraní nebo farmit killy pro postup v Catalystu, nemusíte. Vzhledem k obrovskému počtu hráčů Bungie vypnulo některé možnosti, aby „zajistilo stabilní zážitek“.

Excision je závěrečná mise kampaně, která se odemkne po World’s First race za Salvation’s Edge. Je první, která podporuje 12 hráčů a v níž se Guardiani spojí se svými spojenci, aby jednou provždy zničili The Witness.

Článek Destiny 2: The Final Shape – Grandmaster Excision přichází 18. června se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

With Destiny 2's The Final Shape expansion now here, officially bringing the ten-year Light and Darkness saga to a close, developer Bungie has turned its attention to the future, sharing more on what's next for its live-service shooter - including a tease of the mysterious Codename: Frontiers, whatever it may be, coming next year.

When Bungie revealed The Final Shape last August, it announced 2024 would bring a significant shake-up to the way Destiny 2 content is delivered. Instead of four yearly Seasons, it said it would release three "larger, content-packed" Episodes, each featuring standalone stories split into three six-week-long Acts.

The first of these, Echoes, launches tomorrow, 11th June, picking up immediately after the events of The Final Shape. It all unfolds on Nessus, where there are ancient secrets to unearth and a mysterious new enemy to encounter. Echoes will then be followed by Revenant later this year (Bungie's previous roadmap said between July and October), and comes with a vampire-hunting theme as players, in the role of a Slayer Baron, take on the Fallen. There's also a new potion crafting system - featuring combat and loot potions - alongside the new story elements, quests, and rewards set to feature in all three Episodes.

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The first Destiny 2 clan to complete The Final Shape's raid has unlocked a final mission for all Guardians to close out the sci-fi shooter's expansive story.

It took the Parabellum clan 19 hours to work their way through Salvation’s Edge – and what a triumph it was – but the bigger surprise was that as the cut-scenes played out the end of Destiny's epic decade, a hitherto secret mission became available to all players, regardless of whether or not they'd gotten through the raid themselves.

The mission – called Excision – accommodates 12 players in a stunning crescendo that's sure to squeeze even the steeliest Guardian heart.

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Destiny 2's all-new The Final Shape DLC is, in many ways, a showcase of everything this franchise could be at its absolute best. Some of its new systems, however, are still rather untested, with players being unsure what to make of them. Take the new Pathfinder system, for example.

After you've taken down the big bad of the DLC (for the first time) and begun engaging with The Final Shape's post-campaign progression systems, you will inevitably come across one of the several new Pathfinder interfaces strewn across the Director UI. Pathfinder is a one-size-fits-all Bounty replacement, providing a clear and pointed look at certain loot and currency items to prioritize. As shown in the screenshot below, it's a neat and traditionally beautiful interface that sadly still needs work to truly come into its own. Here's a brief rundown on why, and more of an in-depth look at how The Final Shape's Pathfinder loot system works.

The Finale Shape's Pathfinder loot system explained

Destiny 2's new Pathfinder feature gives you a wide overview of how to progress through your active Season Pass, earn a fair chunk of snazzy loot, and a non-insignificant amount of currency. You do so by completing your randomized array of objectives from left to right, and depending on which Pathfinder you open up, you'll either be looking at location-specific objectives (i.e. Pale Heart missions) or activity-based ones, instead.

The good news is that Pathfinder saddles you with an impressively large number of different objectives. the Pale Heart Pathfinder specifically, for example, will send you off to take down world bosses, complete Lost Sectors, take down enemies in a particular way, help Ghosts in their plight, and a whole roster of other missions. It's all good fun, especially when you can just complete one objective after the other without leaving the location at all.

The bad news, however, is that the activity Pathfinder handles this insistence on variety in a different way, and you'll often need to jump from one playlist to the other to clear your tasks. In effect, this means you'll often have to play PvP and/or Gambit PvPvE matches to actually unlock your Pathfinder Engrams.

Another slight downside to the Pathfinder loot system is that it's not immediately obvious where to find it. Each interface is located in a different spot on the UI, so the Pale Heart's Pathfinder is found in the upper left corner of the Pale Heart's Director map, while the activity Pathfinder is in the Vanguard Director UI.

https://www.reddit.com/r/destiny2/comments/1d8b7wj/pathfinder/

At the time of writing, only the Pale Heart and the core playlist activities have their own respective Pathfinders, but the system seems too comprehensive not to be applied to most major content releases moving forward. I recommend getting used to it, with that in mind. As outlined in the featured Reddit post, many players are still unsure how to feel about Pathfinder as a whole, but Bungie is bound to tune it up as time goes on, so improvements should be coming down the line.

The post Destiny 2’s Pathfinder loot system explained appeared first on Destructoid.