Amid Marathon slump and Destiny 2 player resurgence, former Bungie employee claims studio was “very close” to shutting down before Sony’s acquisition

As we collectively witness the end of Destiny 2 following its final update, some fans have blamed the game’s demise on Sony, suggesting the company didn’t want to continue investing in the sci-fi loot shooter. According to former Bungie community manager Liana Ruppert, however, the real story is more complicated, and developer Bungie was reportedly in trouble well before Sony had the reins.

Ruppert made the claim on X, responding to the suggestion Sony is entirely responsible for Destiny 2‘s demise.

“Wasn’t Sony though, this fight was pre-Sony,” Ruppert wrote, later adding, “Bungie was below the red line before the Sony acquisition. If it wasn’t acquired right then, the studio was very close to shutting its doors at the very least on Destiny. It was an emergency acquisition.”

The idea Bungie has been struggling to keep Destiny 2 alive certainly isn’t new, even after Sony’s $3.6bn acquisition of Bungie in 2022, which was seen by some as the lifeline that would keep it going. One need only look at the multiple rounds of staff layoffs and various studio decisions around monetisation and expansion release schedule over the years to conclude something about its strategy wasn’t quite working.

The reality of Bungie’s troubles was laid bare earlier this year when Sony revealed it had suffered a $765m impairment loss in its most recent financial year, which it said was the result of extraction shooter Marathon underperforming, alongside Destiny 2’s own performance struggles.

Since then, Bungie has reaffirmed its commitment to Marathon, frustrating Destiny 2 players who believe support for the older title should continue. Some have pointed to player numbers of the two games as reason enough for Sony and Bungie to keep investing in Destiny 2, especially after the launch of Destiny 2’s Monument of Triumph update, which caused player numbers to shoot up to degrees we’ve not seen in years – just as Marathon was dipping to new lows.

But numbers don’t tell the whole story, and only Bungie and Sony know the real reason behind their recent decisions. Whatever the truth, we may never find out the whole story.