Bungie, creator of the popular online shooter Destiny 2, announced Friday that it’s hiring new remote workers, as part of an ongoing commitment to a “digital-first future.”
This continues an ongoing movement by Bungie, dating back before its acquisition by Sony in July 2022, to focus on a full hybrid work culture.
Bungie is one of a relative handful of mainstream game developers that has vocally committed to not making a return-to-office mandate, despite multiple investments in new office space in the Seattle area. According to a Bungie rep in an email to GeekWire, the company currently has over 1,400 full-time employees.
The new openings at Bungie include positions in animation, art, engineering, and business development, including a full creative lead. Currently approved states for Bungie remote workers include California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, in addition to Washington and the District of Columbia.
Some of these new hires are being brought aboard to work on an upcoming project from Bungie, which the company describes as a team-based, comedic action game in a “brand-new, science-fantasy universe.” This follows up on reports from February 2021 that Bungie’s roadmap at the time included work on at least one new intellectual property.
In addition, Bungie still plans to revive the long-dormant Marathon franchise with a new entry in the series, a player-vs.-player-vs.-environment “extraction shooter” that was announced back in May at the PlayStation Showcase. The new game, simply called Marathon, has no set release date at time of writing, but will not be a PlayStation exclusive.
Next week, Bungie has scheduled a virtual presentation on Aug. 22 to unveil the next Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, which marks an official conclusion for the overall story arc for both D2 and the original Destiny. This may not bring Destiny 2 itself to a close, but whatever happens after The Final Shape will start a new storyline for the series after nine years in operation.
Bungie previously announced on Aug. 10 that the popular Destiny 2 NPC Commander Zevala will be voiced by Keith David (They Live, Platoon, Mass Effect) as of The Final Shape. David takes the role over from the late Lance Reddick, who played Zevala in every appearance of the character since the original Destiny in 2014. Reddick’s existing lines will remain in-game.
