CEO Pete Parsons (pictured) attributed the layoffs to "financial challenges," a move that has sparked controversy, especially after it was revealed he may have spent over $2.4 million on classic cars following Sony's acquisition of the company and continued  these purchases even after previous layoffs.

Bungie has cited "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions" as reasons for the job cuts.

The Sony subsidiary stated it needs to make significant changes to its cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon. The layoffs will affect all levels of the company, including executives and senior leaders—though not Parsons he will presumably be working on the Chrome.

To reduce the number of layoffs, Bungie is transferring 155 employees to Sony Interactive Entertainment over the next few quarters. Additionally, a team working on one of Bungie's incubation projects—an action game set in a new science-fantasy universe—will be spun off to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios.

Bungie technical UX designer Ash Duong said:"This is hitting people who were told they were valued. That they were important. That they were critical to business success. But none of that mattered.”

Many have called for Parsons to resign. The calls intensified when he set his X account to private, but he soon made it public again, realising it was exacerbating the situation.

Further anger was sparked by the discovery of what appears to be Parsons' account on a car bidding site called Bring a Trailer, showing he has spent $2.4 million on classic cars since September 2022, including $500,000 since the October layoffs.