I opened Paul Tassi’s thread on X and the announcement landed like a thunderclap in an empty theater. Bungie said Destiny 2 will stop active development this June. Most of the studio reportedly heard the news the same way you did: from the outside.
In a tweet, Paul Tassi says almost all of Bungie didn’t know
I follow industry threads closely, and Tassi’s line—“almost all of Bungie did not know about this until it was announced”—cut through the usual spin. He pointed to the Moment of Triumph update and called it basically a reskinned “normal event thing,” which suggests the finale may be quieter than the name implies.
Almost all of Bungie did not know about this until it was announced https://t.co/OVaT1AgZr0
— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) May 22, 2026
Did Bungie know Destiny 2 was ending?
Short answer: not broadly, per reporting. Paul Tassi relayed that most developers at Bungie learned the decision from the public announcement. That pattern—leadership containing information to limit leaks—shows up at big studios a lot. You can believe executives might have briefed a small circle, while the majority of teams stayed in the dark to avoid premature leaks and morale fallout.
At the studio, Marathon shipped but failed to scale its audience
I played Marathon, and it’s one of the flashiest extraction shooters I’ve seen. Still, it didn’t catch a wide audience; extraction shooters remain niche and the market already offered options like ARC Raiders, which picked up a casual crowd that didn’t need another similar title.
Sony’s public numbers don’t help the optimism: it reported Bungie has cost the company over $765 million (€710 million) in net losses. That kind of headline drives hard questions in boardrooms and changes how much risk a parent company will accept.
Is Destiny 3 in development?
Reporting by voices like Jason Schreier suggests there’s no active, full-scale Destiny 3 in the works right now. The narrative many players hoped for—a quiet leap toward a trilogy—isn’t supported by current leaks. If Bungie’s resources shrink, any sequel would need fresh funding or a long stretch of internal rebuild.
In team rooms, silence breeds rumors and fear of cuts
I’ve spoken to developers in similar situations: when announcements come without warning, rumor mills start and anxiety spikes. Tassi’s note fits that pattern—large teams kept offline to prevent early leaks, then blindsided when the public statement arrives.
Bungie now stands like a ship stripped of its sails: leadership must choose whether to downsize to a skeleton crew, sell or shutter projects, or convince Sony to inject more funds. Each path carries reputational and human costs, and none are risk-free.
Will Bungie lay off staff?
Jason Schreier reported the possibility of significant layoffs. With Marathon not expanding the player base enough and Sony absorbing large write-downs, layoffs are a plausible outcome unless the publisher decides to fund a long recovery. You should expect restructuring or role cuts in scenarios like this, not just creative pivots.
I’ll be watching the official statements from Bungie, comments from Sony, and follow-ups from reporters like Tassi and Schreier. You deserve clarity about what this means for live services, in-game support, and future projects tied to the Destiny IP. Who will move first: Sony with more cash, or the market with its verdict?