live service

Bungie laid off roughly 400 people days after Destiny 2's final update. The studio that sold the industry on forever games couldn't keep one alive.

Sony has now written down $765 million of its Bungie acquisition — $565 million in the most recent quarter alone. The analyst who covers the deal says there's more coming. The mistake wasn't Bungie. It was panic.

2K's May 8 layoffs at 31st Union were not just another grim industry update. They looked like a familiar late-cycle panic: cut staff, rewrite the pitch, and hope the market has not already moved on.

The studio cut its community manager and key designers to keep the game running. That's not a sign of health - it's the specific kind of signal live service players have learned to read.