More information about Bungie‘s mass layoffs are coming to light, as news broke late Thursday that Destiny Franchise Director Luke Smith and Franchise VP Mark Noseworthy are no longer working at the company due to its recent restructure and layoffs. Noted game journalist and insider Jeff Grubb confirmed on his Game Mess podcast that Smith and Noseworthy were let go, with the project they were involved in developing called Payback, set in the Destiny universe, being shelved indefinitely.
“Smith and Noseworthy were let go as part of the executive and leadership shakeup,” Grubb stated. Payback was intended to be a major new installment for the Destiny series, but not a direct sequel like Destiny 3, which we’ve discussed on several episodes of Tower Casuals: The Destiny Podcast sometime late last year.
Smith, who most notably created fan favorite raid Vault of Glass and climbed the ladder to Franchise Director, had been a prominent figure for Bungie and had significantly contributed to Destiny 2‘s narrative development. Noseworthy, the vice president of the franchise, oversaw the strategic direction of Destiny.
Bungie CEO Pete Parsons confirmed on Wednesday that around 220 employees, or 17% of the workforce, were being laid off across various departments, with another 150 being reassigned within Sony Interactive Entertainment. Parsons attributed the layoffs to rising development costs, industry shifts, and economic conditions, moving their focus on cost structure and development efforts solely on Destiny and Marathon. Additionally, the incubated sci-fi fantasy game not related to Destiny or Marathon will be moved to a new internal studio within PlayStation.
Despite the positive reception of Destiny 2‘s The Final Shape, these job cuts have raised concerns about the future content for players, with larger expansions likely being replaced by smaller content packs. We will keep you up to date on what is happening with Bungie, Destiny, and Marathon, so keep it here on Boss Rush.
What are your thoughts on these layoffs and the continued amount of industry cuts? Let us know in our Discord or in the comments.
Source: Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess
Source: Forbes via Paul Tassi
Featured Image Source: Bungie
Corey Dirrig is the Founder and President of Boss Rush Media. He is the host of The Boss Rush Podcast, Nintendo Pow Block, Tower Casuals: The Destiny Podcast, and cohosts a variety of other podcasts and content. You can follow Corey on Bluesky, on X/Twitter, and on Instagram or connect with him on LinkedIn for Business Inquiries.
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