On October 30, 2023, it was announced that Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2, has laid off employees. The extent of the layoffs and who is affected is currently unknown. However, new information suggests that the long-time Destiny 2 composer has also had to leave.
What happened at Bungie? The Destiny 2 developer Bungie surprised everyone with a large layoff wave on October 30. It is still unclear how many employees had to leave and who was affected. CEO Pete Parsons informed the affected employees yesterday in a team meeting about the respective dismissals.
So far, especially Bungie employees from the areas of communication, PR, support, and sound design have spoken out.
You can read our news on the subject here: Destiny 2 has to lay off employees, extent of the layoffs still unclear
“Destiny 2” composer Michael Salvatori apparently laid off
Why is it suspected that the composer was laid off? Composer Michael Salvatori has been composing music for video games since 1997. His works include the soundtracks for Halo 2, Halo 3, and since 2014 the Destiny game series – primarily, therefore, games from the developer Bungie.
The CEO of Cinema Motions first mentioned Salvatori’s dismissal in a post on X.com (formerly Twitter) based on an alleged internal source. The X.com account Destiny Bulletin later posted about an update on the composer’s homepage:
The description of the composer’s career path was replaced by Gone fishing 🙂
.
What does this mean for Destiny 2 and Bungie? The background and impact of the layoffs are currently still unclear. As mentioned above, primarily employees from the departments around communication, PR, support, and sound design have spoken out about their dismissals.
How does the community perceive this? Video game music and its composers are very important to many communities. For example, when it became known that the long-time “Elder Scrolls” composer Jeremy Soule was not hired for the Skyrim sequel The Elder Scrolls 6, players reacted disappointedly. Our colleagues at GameStar reported.
When the composer of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV Masayoshi Soken announced that he was seriously ill with cancer, the community showed support.
The Destiny 2 community reacted accordingly to the possible layoff of the composer:
- Masyer Moose High on Gaming(X.com):
The original sound of Bungie is officially dead, what?
- @Sarojh3 (X.com):
Even if this is a terrible, tasteless joke, I hope it is just a joke.
- @ShinMadero (X.com):
Insanity. His compositions have cult status, and he continues to produce extremely high-quality works.
- @DrOptimalDPS (X.com):
RIP Destiny. 2014-2023.
- @Simmux_ (X.com):
Absolutely regrettable. Everyone in the community agreed that his music for this game was stunning. And they’re firing him?? Absurd.
However, some players also point out that Michael Salvatori is now almost 70 years old and has probably earned his retirement.
- @vanguze (X.com):
Retirement, guys. The guy has earned it.
- @NotBlakeBrown (X.com):
The man is almost 70, is it possible he was ready to leave?
Currently, there is still no statement from the composer himself regarding the situation and Bungie has not released any further statements. As soon as there is more information, we will update this news.
What do you think about the possible layoff of Michael Salvatori? Will you miss his music? Feel free to write it to us in the comments.
More about Destiny 2: Destiny 2: Server Down for Update 7.2.5.2 from 31.10. – All times and information
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!