‘Step down, Pete’ – Former Bungie devs react to lay offs

Former Bungie employees have called for Bungie CEO Pete Parsons to step down following Wednesday’s announcement that the studio will eliminate 220 roles.

On Wednesday the Destiny developer announced that it plans to lay off 220 staff, roughly 17% of the studio. In a letter published on Wednesday, the Destiny creator cited “rising costs of development and industry shifts” for what it called some of the most difficult changes the studio has had to make.

Following the news, several former Bungie employees took to social media to voice their anger at the decision. A large amount of the backlash was directed at Bungie boss Pete Parsons.

“You are a liar, a thief and so many things we can’t discuss publically,” community manager Liana Ruppert alleged on X. “Step down, and without the giant Sony payout. This isn’t on Sony, this is squarely on the failure of leadership. Plain and simple.”

Griffin Bennett, a former Destiny community manager,  added: “Pete is a joke.”

“C-Suite taking accountability for any of this or still just ‘withholding bonuses’ and it’ll be ‘settled in-house’?” Bennett wrote in another post on X.

“Poor leadership has crushed one of the greatest developers of all time. Retire, Pete.”

Sam Bartley, another former community manager and community coordinator, wrote: “Coward. You did this. You chose this. I’m already listed as ‘do not work with’ and I don’t care anymore. You lied to my face. Straight to it. You also invited me to come see your new cars two days before you laid me off. Two. Fucking. Days. Leave. Now.”

The letter published on Wednesday also announced that the studio is working on a new sci-fi action game within PlayStation Studios. The PlayStation maker purchased Bungie in 2022.

“For everyone affected by this job reduction, we will be offering a generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage,” the letter reads.

The letter concluded by reassuring fans that Bungie’s planned Marathon reboot is still in development and that over 800 developers are still working on it and the Destiny franchise.