Bungie Restructures: Project Payback Cancelled, Destiny 3 Rumors Clarified

Reports indicate that Bungie, the studio behind the Destiny franchise, has indefinitely shelved “Project Payback” in a series of developments. Industry insider Jeff Grubb reported on the Game Mess Mornings podcast that Bungie has put “Project Payback,” believed to be the internal codename for the next iteration of Destiny, on hold.

But Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier provided crucial insights into the situation, stating, “Just to clear up some rumors floating around, Destiny 3 was not canceled because it was never in development, per people familiar. Bungie did some very early work on a spinoff project called Payback, but they canceled that a while ago.”

Reports also indicate that Bungie veterans Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy have left the company. Grubb further clarified that Smith and Noseworthy did not leave as a direct result of layoffs, despite initial thoughts that Bungie had included them in the workforce reduction. These changes come in the wake of Bungie’s announcement of its second round of mass layoffs in two years, affecting over 220 employees, approximately 17% of the studio’s workforce.

Just to clear up some rumors floating around, Destiny 3 was not canceled because it was never in development, per people familiar. Bungie did some very early work on a spinoff project called Payback, but they canceled that a while ago. I’ll have a story tomorrow with more info

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Despite these setbacks, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has stated that the company will focus its development efforts “entirely on Destiny and Marathon,” with 850 team members currently working on these franchises. However, the future of the Destiny franchise remains uncertain, with Grubb noting, “Either way, let’s be clear, a ‘Destiny 3’ or ‘next Destiny’ is just not the thing that they are going to be coming out of this looking toward let alone working on in any real way.”

As Bungie navigates this period of significant change, the gaming industry and Destiny fans will be closely watching to see how these developments impact the studio’s future projects and the beloved Destiny franchise.

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