Both the Marathon reboot and Destiny 2’s next expansion are said to have suffered delays (Picture: Sony)

Between the layoffs at Naughty Dog and now Bungie, Sony’s plans for more live service PlayStation games may be in jeopardy.

It’s less than two years since Sony bragged it would have 10 live service games out by 2026 but those plans already seem to be in tatters. That’s not great considering the company said it would be spending more than half of its budget for video game research & development this year on live service titles.

Sony itself has not said anything about the situation directly, but there’s no better evidence for trouble behind-the-scenes than the recent layoffs at Bungie, aka the very company Sony bought to assist it with live service development.

It’s now reported that around 100 Bungie employees have lost their jobs, as part of what is claimed to be wider cost cutting measures across the PlayStation division.

This is according to a Bloomberg report, which also refers to the recent job losses at Naughty Dog (which is apparently struggling with its multiplayer The Last Of Us spin-off, assumed to be one of the 10 live service titles), Media Molecule, and support studio Visual Arts group.

In addition, Bloomberg cites analyst Doug Creutz, who believes these recent developments point to PlayStation undergoing restructuring efforts.

Forbes’ Paul Tassi reports that Bungie’s layoffs were decided upon, not by Sony, but by Bungie’s own management. So, this isn’t a result of Sony wanting to replace Bungie staff with its own employees.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean Sony isn’t involved, just that Bungie had the final say over who exactly was laid off, since Bungie still retains some independence post-Sony buyout.

Plus, while Sony staff aren’t taking over, remaining Bungie staff were apparently told that positions within the support departments, like community management, will now be outsourced.

Additional: This may be a part of wider cost-cutting at Sony in multiple areas, but as an independent entity, who gets cut, the timing and terms (as above), are Bungie’s decision

(To clarify an earlier point, health insurance lasts until severance ends, other benefits end today)

— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) October 31, 2023

The obvious question now is whether all this points to Sony decreasing its investment in live service games or doubling down on it. With no internally developed games currently on its release schedules it’s impossible to tell from the outside, although its 2026 goals are clearly already unachievable.

Not counting the multiplatform Marathon reboot (which itself is believed to be delayed to 2025), Sony has only announced two exclusive live service games so far: Fairgame$ and Concord. Neither have shown any gameplay footage and only Concord has a launch window of 2024.

Not to mention PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who was believed to be pushing Sony’s live service game future the most, has suddenly retired, leaving it unclear whether his replacement will continue his plans or pivot things in an entirely new direction.

Amid all this, there are rumours that the push for more live service games made a lot of PlayStation studios unhappy, resulting in head of production Connie Booth being blamed and fired for all the discontent.

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Sony and Bungie are certainly not the only ones guilty of sweeping layoffs in the games industry (there’s been a worrying amount all year), but what’s going on at Sony right now is more than just returning to a post-pandemic status quo.

Given Sega was willing to shut down development of its own live service shooter Hyenas because it didn’t think it would be profitable enough, it won’t be surprising if at least some of Sony’s live service projects meet the same fate.

The Last Of Us multiplayer game is rumoured to already be cancelled (Picture: Sony)

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Between the layoffs at Naughty Dog and now Bungie, Sony’s plans for more live service PlayStation games may be in jeopardy.