Destiny 2 situation not result of Sony revenge plot, decisions are entirely financial

Sources at Bungie tell Forbes' Paul Tassi that the current Destiny 2 situation isn't the result of some kind of revenge-based culture war against the developer, and that what's happening with Destiny 2 is just business and not necessarily personal.

2

Recent reports said that Sony could be clashing with Bungie behind the scenes, and that Destiny 2's retirement is a result of the fallout. That's not the case. Sources tell Bungie expert Paul Tassi that what's happening with Destiny 2 is financially motivated, principally due to a major reduction to the value of its games.

"This is almost entirely financial. Destiny 2 simply cost more than it made. Math--cruel math, but math. No one at Bungie has any belief this is some revenge idea," Tassi said.

"It is obvious to everyone Bungie has not performed well and it is not exactly Sony's golden child. But this idea that Sony is blaming Bungie for Concord and all the rest of the live stuff is a huge reach. Sony isn't doing this to "punish" Bungie for some transgression via its live service plans or game underperformance."

Due to Bungie's underperformance, Sony confirmed that a significant $750 million impairment charge was made against the studio's assets, including intangibles like video games.

This effectively means that because Destiny 2 and Marathon did so poorly compared to what Bungie had expected, that the studio had to charge itself for the difference between these two values, reducing the overall monetary value of its games.

These kinds of charges are a big deal because they make it harder for studios to secure loans at good rates. A reduction in asset value means lenders are less likely to make big loans that will help fund production of new content and new games. Sony, for its part, likely gets an industrial rate, but it's possible that the group may not sign off on such a loan at its preferred rate due to its fiduciary duty to deliver profits to shareholders.

Sources have also told Tassi that the recent surge in Destiny 2's player counts on Steam have not swayed the powers that be, and that Destiny 2 will still remain in its limbo state--kept online, but no new expansions or content being added.