Bungie should successfully continue its flagship title “Destiny 2” after being acquired by Sony, but a recent financial report from the Japanese company makes it clear that the American studio is currently not doing well.
Has Bungie been acquired by Sony? Yes, they have. On January 31, 2022 Sony bought the studio of the Destiny developers for 3.2 billion euros. Destiny 2 was supposed to be maintained and developed alongside other yet-to-be-released titles.
Everything sounded too good to be true, but then came waves of layoffs, projects were shelved & Destiny was set to undergo a directional change after the Light & Darkness saga. Smaller content drops, but several in a row. With the latest expansion “At the Edge of Destiny” it became clear that the plan was not really working out. Many fans dropped off and this was reflected in the player numbers.
The extent of the disinterest was still unknown, but in a recent financial report from the Japanese company, it was made clear that things do not look good for Bungie.
Bungie’s business forecast has been lowered
What does the financial report reveal? In Sony’s official financial report, Lin Tao, the financial director of the Japanese company, reports on Bungie’s failure since the acquisition (Source: sony.com). The report states that the studio has not met expectations regarding player numbers and sales.
Furthermore, “impairment losses for a portion of the intangible and other assets of Bungie, Inc. related to Destiny 2” have been recorded. These amount to 31.5 billion yen, which corresponds to over 204 million US dollars at the current exchange rate.
Lin Tao also states: “As far as Destiny 2 is concerned, sales figures and user activity have partly not met the expectations we had at the time of Bungie’s acquisition due to changes in the competitive environment.”
As a result, the business forecast has now been lowered, and the situation is being continuously monitored. Meanwhile, Sony is trying to turn the tide with some improvements.
Why is Destiny 2 performing so poorly right now? After Bungie completed its Light & Darkness saga, many longtime fans dropped off. The shooter had reached its conclusion. Many were no longer interested in a new saga.
Those who remained wanted to continue supporting their favorite shooter, but the new direction in the content model did not please everyone. The content was too small, the DLC was too superficial, and countless bugs disrupted the gaming experience.
Additionally, Bungie created a new system, to keep players engaged with grueling grind longer. Only a few were willing to engage with it, and those who were disinterested also dropped off. Moreover, fans have been waiting for months for the promised roadmap.
If one looks at the current overall picture of Bungie, it does not look rosy. There is little hope among fans, and if the studio also skimp on content for the upcoming expansion “Renegades”, Bungie could face further consequences. After all, it is not long until the release of the upcoming DLC: The Vex gain their own will after 10 years in Destiny 2 and become stylish criminals immediately
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