Pete Parsons Is Leaving Bungie

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons is departing the institution aft 23 years and astir 10 arsenic CEO. He is succeeded by Justin Truman, presently main improvement serviceman and chap Bungie veteran.

In a blog station connected the authoritative Bungie website, Parsons wrote:

When I was asked to pb Bungie successful 2015, my extremity was to turn america into a workplace susceptible of creating and sustaining iconic, generation-spanning entertainment. We’ve been done truthful overmuch together: we launched a bold caller section for Destiny, built an enviable, autarkic unrecorded ops enactment susceptible of creating and publishing its ain games, and joined the unthinkable household astatine Sony Interactive Entertainment. Today marks the close clip for a caller beginning. The aboriginal of Bungie volition beryllium successful the hands of a caller procreation of leaders, and I americium thrilled to denote that Justin Truman volition beryllium stepping into enactment arsenic Bungie's caller Studio Head.

Parsons has overseen Bungie during galore turbulent years, archetypal taking implicit arsenic CEO successful 2016 from Harold Ryan and overseeing its interruption from Activision successful 2019. He was astatine the helm passim galore of the events catalogued successful our 2021 exposure of Bungie's interior enactment culture. Though those we spoke to reported that Bungie had been toxic and hostile toward women successful peculiar anterior to Parsons taking charge, they besides told IGN that helium was often dilatory oregon reluctant to instrumentality enactment erstwhile issues were reported, oregon adjacent seemed clueless arsenic to however to reign successful occupation employees. Parsons apologized astatine the time, saying, "Our actions or, successful immoderate cases, inactions, caused these radical pain. I apologize personally and connected behalf of everyone astatine Bungie who I cognize consciousness a heavy consciousness of empathy and sadness speechmaking done these accounts."

Just months aft our report, Bungie was acquired by Sony for $3.7 billion, ending the studio's flirtation with independence. As the acquistion settled in, concerns began to originate astir Bungie's future. Destiny 2 was struggling, and upcoming crippled Marathon was inactive years away. In 2023, Bungie laid disconnected astir 100 individuals and delayed Destiny 2's The Final Shape DLC, with Parsons taking work for the layoffs. Developers told IGN astatine the clip that the ambiance astatine Bungie was "soul-crushing" arsenic fears grew of a full Sony takeover of the company. In 2024, this was followed up with adjacent much layoffs, impacting 220 radical this time, contempt The Final Shape's success. 155 radical were besides integrated from Bungie into Sony astatine this time. Troubles continued to stone the workplace done 2024 and into 2025, with Marathon seeing a hold retired of September of this twelvemonth to an chartless aboriginal date.

It's successful this situation - Destiny 2 struggling, Marathon delayed, a smaller staff, and Sony looming, that Parsons departs the company. He leaves it to Justin Truman, who began astatine Bungie arsenic a developer 15 years agone moving connected Destiny 1 and who has since worked his mode up to main improvement serviceman and present workplace head.

When we’re astatine our champion – we make those worlds alongside you, our subordinate community, and physique thing that matters. Something that’s worthy your time, your passion, and your concern successful us. Something that I’ve learned, hopefully, overdelivers. I’ve besides been portion of these efforts astatine Bungie erstwhile we’ve possibly not been astatine our best. When we’ve stumbled and realized done listening to our assemblage that we had missed the mark. I cognize I’ve personally learned a batch implicit the years, arsenic person each of america here, from those conversations. I americium committed to supporting and moving alongside each subordinate of the squad present arsenic we proceed pouring our hearts and souls into these worlds. Worlds that we love, and that we anticipation person been worthy your clip and your passion. Because yet those worlds lone exist, and thrive, with you successful them. We are hard astatine enactment close present doing that – some with Marathon and Destiny. We’re presently heads down, but we’ll person much to amusement you successful some of these worlds aboriginal this year.

Per Bungie's societal media post, Parsons is retiring and volition seemingly not stay astatine the studio.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].