Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy, two Bungie veterans known for their work on the Destiny series, are reportedly no longer working at the company, following the cancellation of the Payback project.
According to journalist Jeff Grubb speaking on his Game Mess Decides podcast, the duo was let go following the cancellation of Payback, an incubation project that it’s believed would go on to become a game in the Destiny series (but not Destiny 3).
“Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy are no longer at Bungie, they were let go,” Grubb said. “They were caught in the executive and leadership shakeup mentioned in the blog. Payback has been shelved.”
Grubb later clarified his comments, explaining that despite saying they were “let go”, it was more accurate to say they “left due to the leadership restructuring.”
The Payback project reportedly shut down in mid-June.
On Wednesday, Bungie announced that it will lay off 220 staff (roughly 17% of the studio), with a further 155 staff being “integrated” into Sony Interactive Entertainment.
According to Stephen Totilo’s Game File newsletter which cites three separate sources, it’s claimed that these cuts were already planned by early 2024, long before The Final Shape was released in June.
Totilo’s sources say this week’s round of cuts was planned in early 2024, and couldn’t have been avoided even if The Final Shape had been an enormous hit.
“I think Sony overpaid for Bungie,” one source told Totilo. “I think Bungie sold things they were just not able to deliver.”
Following the layoffs, now-former Bungie staff have been taking to social media to criticise the studio, with many directing the blame at Bungie boss Pete Parsons.