Behind the scenes at Destiny 2 developer Bungie, morale is reportedly all-time low following mass layoffs at the company and other cost-cutting measures. In a new IGN report, sources at the studio claim that a "soul-crushing" atmosphere has set in and that the company is at risk of being fully absorbed by Sony.

While Bungie was acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022, on paper, the company has still been able to operate relatively independently. In the aftermath of the acquisition, its board of directors consists of PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst, senior Sony VP Eric Lempel, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. Essentially, Parsons gets a tie-breaking vote on decisions, but the catch here is that Bungie is obligated by Sony to meet certain financial targets.

Should Bungie fail to meet these targets, Sony can legally dissolve the board and take full voting power of the company. It's a scenario that was looking increasingly likely following the release of Lightfall earlier this year, as the poorly received expansion saw the studio miss its 2023 financial forecast by 45% and the player count for Destiny 2 reach record lows. According to IGN, Parsons made the decision to lay off 100 staff members across several departments in an effort to cut costs, while other morale-boosting initiatives at the company were trimmed down substantially.