Destiny 3 Is Not In Active Production As Bungie Faces Major Layoffs After Ending Destiny 2 Development

Bungie is reportedly preparing for another significant round of layoffs after confirming that Destiny 2 will no longer receive new expansions or major future content. According to a new Bloomberg report, the studio currently does not have a new game project ready to absorb employees who were previously tied to Destiny 2, and Destiny 3 is not in active production. The report arrives shortly after Bungie announced that Monument of Triumph, launching on June 9, will be Destiny 2’s final major content update. That update is being positioned as a free celebration of the game’s full history, but it also marks the end of Bungie’s decade long live service pipeline for one of the most influential online shooters in the industry.

For longtime fans, the confirmation that Destiny 3 is not currently in active production is especially painful. Late 2025 rumors from Bungie related leakers suggested that the next major Destiny installment was already in early development. Bloomberg’s reporting now directly pushes back against that claim, indicating that there is no active Destiny 3 production pipeline at the studio.

This does not mean Destiny as an IP is completely finished. Bungie still plans to pitch new game concepts, including projects tied to the Destiny universe. The studio’s own message around the end of Destiny 2 development also referenced future incubation work. However, incubation is not the same as active production. It means Bungie may explore new ideas, prototypes, and internal pitches, but there is no guarantee that any of those projects will become fully funded games or reach release.

The situation is made more difficult by Bungie’s operating costs and its current business position. The studio is based in Bellevue, an expensive development hub, and it has already gone through multiple rounds of major workforce reductions over the past few years. In October 2023, Bungie laid off around 100 employees while also delaying 2 game projects. In July 2024, the studio cut another 220 employees, representing roughly 17% of its workforce at the time, while 155 additional roles were transferred to Sony Interactive Entertainment instead of being eliminated outright.

Together, those earlier reductions brought Bungie down from around 1200 employees to roughly 850, representing an estimated 40% headcount reduction in less than 1 year. At the time, former CEO Pete Parsons acknowledged that the studio had expanded too aggressively.

“Overly ambitious.” Quote by: Pete Parsons

Parsons later left Bungie in August 2025 and was replaced by Justin Truman, who now leads the studio during one of the most challenging periods in its history.

The latest round of layoffs, if carried out as reported, would further underline the consequences of Destiny 2 reaching the end of its active development lifecycle without a ready successor. Live service studios often rely on long term content pipelines to keep teams allocated, revenue flowing, and player engagement stable. When that pipeline closes and no replacement project is ready, staffing pressure becomes almost unavoidable.

Bungie will continue supporting Marathon, its recently released extraction shooter. The game was received well by critics, but it has not yet reached the type of large audience Bungie likely needs from a major new live service project. The studio has reaffirmed its commitment to improving and expanding Marathon, including plans for an experimental PvE only mode that could help attract players who may not be interested in the extraction shooter format.

Still, Marathon now carries even more pressure. With Destiny 2 ending major content development and Destiny 3 not in active production, Bungie’s near term future depends heavily on whether Marathon can grow beyond its current audience. That is a difficult position for a studio whose identity has been tied so closely to Destiny for more than a decade.

Sony’s financial reporting also adds another layer to the story. The company recently recorded an $800 million impairment loss tied to Bungie, effectively acknowledging that the studio’s value is now lower than the original $3.6 billion estimate used during the 2022 acquisition. That kind of impairment does not automatically mean Bungie has failed as an asset, but it does show that expectations have been adjusted downward in a significant way.

For players, the most important takeaway is that Destiny 2 is entering its final major content chapter while the future of the franchise remains uncertain. Bungie may still explore new Destiny projects, but there is no active Destiny 3 development to point to right now. The universe may continue someday, but the next step appears to be years away at best.

For Bungie, this is a strategic crossroads. The studio must stabilize after years of layoffs, prove that Marathon can grow, develop new ideas through incubation, and determine whether Destiny still has a future beyond Destiny 2. After shaping modern live service gaming for more than a decade, Bungie now faces the difficult task of rebuilding its own future without the active content engine that carried it for so long.

Do you think Bungie should eventually build Destiny 3, or should the studio move away from Destiny and focus fully on new projects like Marathon?