The layoffs at Destiny 2 have led to unprecedented unrest among players this week. Many of those who have supported Bungie so far are now reconsidering their pre-orders for the DLC “The Final Shape”. Thus, they express their collective frustration and disappointment.
This is how players react to Bungie’s layoffs: Destiny 2 is currently experiencing turbulent times after it became known that Bungie executed numerous layoffs earlier this week.
The news led to a wave of dissatisfaction among players, who vocally expressed their disappointment on various social media platforms.
The reactions are varied, but one particularly striking act of protest is the boycott of the pre-order for the DLC “The Final Shape”, which costs 99.99 Euros on Steam with Annual Pass.
- Many players see this as a gesture of solidarity to show support for the laid-off employees.
- Furthermore, the layoffs and the overall atmosphere at Bungie would be sufficient reasons for a refund of the already pre-ordered DLC.
However, whether this decision ultimately impacts the right people remains questionable.
This might be the last Destiny 2 expansion:
Cancellations are a manifestation of collective frustration and disappointment towards Bungie
On Reddit, specifically in the DestinyTheGame subreddit, fans have boycotted the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion “The Final Shape” as part of a collective protest. Initially, a player just wanted to inquire whether they could cancel their pre-order for known reasons.
Because one “made a pre-order here and expected the content to be released on a certain day and to reach a certain level of quality.” But now, with so many things happening, they finally have reasonable grounds to request a refund. Wrote the Redditor Eigenspace.
Here you will find everything the upcoming DLC “The Final Shape” is supposed to offer:
Others also found this the best way to express their ongoing disappointment regarding the layoffs, the likely postponement of the DLC, and the poor performance of Destiny 2.
The post received 2.2K upvotes accordingly, and the longtime Destiny player PoorlyWordedName commented:
I have over 3000 hours in Destiny. It is by far my favorite game, but that… That broke me… My compassion goes out to every single person who lost their job. […] Greedy corporate interests have once again destroyed something I love and ruined people’s lives. I refuse to support them further and hope others recognize how broken this all is.
joined PoorlyWordedName in the wave of cancellations on Reddit
Employees and management are hard to separate
This is the dark side of the protest: The Destiny 2 community shows that it is not willing to accept the recent developments and layoffs at Bungie without question.
One of the significant challenges players face with their cancellations is distinguishing between the remaining Bungie employees and the company’s management.
Many players want to express their frustration and disappointment with Bungie’s management through the cancellation of the upcoming DLC. Their compassion goes out to every single person who lost their job.
This also reflects the quote from the Guardian FormatR, who commented in the Destiny Reddit: “I just canceled mine and damn, it felt good.“
Cancellation now threatens all jobs: In contrast, the remaining employees at Bungie care about Destiny 2 and their jobs. They have long been demanding changes from their bosses to bring players back. However, many of these proposals have been rejected.
However, due to the massive cancellations, there could now be further losses, more layoffs, and even a complete collapse, as Paul Tassi noted on Twitter/X.
This development highlights how complex and two-sided the impacts of the Destiny 2 community’s protest are and how solidarity with the employees and dissatisfaction with the management collide in this uncertain time.
The user Scott-SX2Gaming notes, however: “It is a shitty situation, but [Bungie] created it themselves. No one should worry about the consequences if they stop playing the game. That is Bungie’s issue. If it leads to further job losses, even though that would really suck, players cannot take responsibility for that.“
It is still difficult not to feel compassion for all those affected. Because in the end, the remaining Bungie employees will likely bear the cost, not the management.
The worst part is that those who cause the problem will not face any consequences. I would bet that the entire leadership team at Bungie has golden parachutes.
writes player Corey about the situation via Twitter
What do you think about the Destiny 2 community’s decision to boycott DLC pre-orders to show their solidarity with the laid-off employees? Have you perhaps already canceled yourself? Then feel free to share your reasons for or against it with us in the comments.
A Destiny 3 is also being discussed again: Destiny 2: Insider report sheds dark light on Bungie’s inner workings – Thoughts on Destiny 3
