Bungie has confirmed it’s “exploring choices” to sublease 210,984 sq. ft of its large headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, saying the transfer displays its continued concentrate on a “digital first” mannequin.
Following main layoffs throughout Bungie’s staff in June, the studio has made the choice to place a big chunk of its Bellevue headquarters up for sublease, which means that it’ll be renting out components of the house to a 3rd get together (or events).
The Recreation Publish broke the information after reportedly reviewing a 10-page commercial for the constructing in a business leasing brochure, which said that 210,984 sq. ft of the constructing will probably be accessible to sublease by means of September 30, 2035. That’s a very long time from now, and one which left followers involved for Bungie’s future initiatives.
Bungie confirmed the information in a press release despatched to The Recreation Publish, stating that this transfer displays the corporate’s rising concentrate on distant work, which ties into its “digital-first” mannequin.
“Bungie is exploring choices to sublease its campus in Bellevue, Washington,” a studio spokesperson mentioned. “The studio transitioned to a digital-first mannequin a number of years in the past, and this transfer displays the staff’s evolving office wants and the effectiveness of its distant collaboration. Bungie will proceed to keep up a bodily workplace presence in Bellevue.”
Responses from the group have been combined; some argue that this modification is simply logical, given the large layoffs that simply occurred, whereas others are about what this might imply for Bungie’s future.
“I’ve seen folks dooming about this prefer it doesn’t make a ton of sense within the current circumstances,” one wrote on X. “400-something folks aren’t gonna be capable to use that house in full, and it’s higher than letting it acquire mud.”
“Bungie is so good at making video games (imo) that I want they might fill all this house and have 2-5 initiatives directly,” one other mentioned. “However with their decreased measurement now, it’s in all probability the smart resolution.”
“In layman’s phrases, ‘We’re all going to be working from dwelling now, since we are able to not afford our large workplaces,'” one other remarked.
Bungie notably laid off 292 staff at its Bellevue, Washington workplace in June, marking its third spherical of layoffs in three years. As per reporting from The Seattle Occasions, this location employed 1,000 workers members in 2023; the corporate reportedly laid off roughly 320 workers between October 2023 and July 2024, making this most up-to-date spherical of layoffs much more brutal.
This newest information follows rising discontent from Bungie’s fanbase, who lately took to the chat en masse throughout PlayStation’s September State of Play to spam requests for Future 3 after the developer ended help for the title in favor of specializing in Marathon earlier this yr.
Sources advised Forbes that plans have been in place to ‘relaunch’ the sport as Future Infinity, however they have been finally scrapped. Future 3 was additionally reportedly thought of by Bungie, however “issues did not swing that method.”
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Information Editor. With ten years of expertise reporting on video games and leisure, she’s received a storied background within the combating recreation group, influencer information, and viral on-line tendencies. Discover her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
