Windows Central Insider
To say that the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster if you're a fan of Bungie and its long-running space fantasy looter shooter Destiny 2 would be an understatement. In late May, the developer suddenly announced that development of the game would end on June 9, with one final massive Monument of Triumph content update sending the title out with a bang.
Destiny 2 has experienced a steady and severe player count decline over time due to slow and disappointing updates, though fans rallied to demand a Destiny 3 and vowed to flood the servers for the final patch — something they've followed through on while also gathering upwards of 400,000 signatures for a Destiny 3 Change.org petition.
The push for Sony and Bungie to greenlight a third Destiny and not end the series on such an abrupt note has also driven lots of conversation about what went wrong behind the scenes. That led former Bungie community manager Liana Ruppert to speak out, claiming that "A lot of money didn't go into Destiny" due to leadership "greed."
Now, she's commented on the health of Bungie's business once again — this time alleging that the studio "was below the red line" before Sony initiated its plan to acquire it for $3.6 billion in 2022. The merger with the PlayStation maker, she says, was an "emergency acquisition."
"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," she wrote in a social media post. "It was an emergency acquisition."
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 acquisitionJune 12, 2026
Notably, this news lines up with previous comments from Ruppert and other ex-Bungie developers who fiercely criticized the studio's leadership for long-standing issues when major layoffs came to Bungie in 2024, after it had already gone through cuts in late 2023.
All signs point to grave resource mismanagement at the developer that put it in dire straits and drove it to strike a deal with Sony. At first, Bungie was given wide creative freedom under the PlayStation publisher, but its independence has been "getting tighter" since last year, and it's "becoming more part of PlayStation Studios."
Just last month, Sony reported a $565 million impairment loss attached to Bungie. That's further called the studio's autonomy into question, and has left many wondering how much control Sony now has over its future plans.
With Destiny 2 content development now over, the performance of Bungie's new PvPvE extraction shooter Marathon will undoubtedly play a large role in determining what the studio does next. The game hasn't exactly been a massive hit since it arrived in March, though it does have a passionate community of dedicated players.
Ultimately, if Bungie's financial troubles have been as severe as Ruppert describes them for several years now, it's likely going to take a long time for its workers and Sony to right the ship and stabilize the situation at the studio. I just hope that effort is actually invested, and that Destiny — and Bungie itself — has a place in the future.
How do you feel about Bungie and the end of Destiny 2? Share your thoughts in the comments, and also let me know if you want Destiny 3 or not in our poll.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
