Bungie has confirmed it is “exploring options” to sublease 210,984 square feet of its massive headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, saying the move reflects its continued focus on a “digital first” model.
Following major layoffs across Bungie’s team in June, the studio has made the decision to put a large chunk of its Bellevue headquarters up for sublease, meaning that it’ll be renting out parts of the space to a third party (or parties).
The Game Post broke the news after reportedly reviewing a 10-page advertisement for the building in a commercial leasing brochure, which stated that 210,984 square feet of the building will be available to sublease through September 30, 2035. That’s a long time from now, and one that left fans concerned for Bungie’s future projects.
Bungie confirmed the news in a statement sent to The Game Post, stating that this move reflects the company’s growing focus on remote work, which ties into its “digital-first” model.
“Bungie is exploring options to sublease its campus in Bellevue, Washington,” a studio spokesperson said. “The studio transitioned to a digital-first model several years ago, and this move reflects the team’s evolving workplace needs and the effectiveness of its remote collaboration. Bungie will continue to maintain a physical office presence in Bellevue.”
Responses from the community have been mixed; some argue that this change is only logical, given the massive layoffs that just occurred, while others are about what this could mean for Bungie’s future.
“I’ve seen people dooming about this like it doesn’t make a ton of sense in the present circumstances,” one wrote on X. “400-something people aren’t gonna be able to use that space in full, and it’s better than letting it collect dust.”
“Bungie is so good at making games (imo) that I wish they could fill all this space and have 2-5 projects at once,” another said. “But with their reduced size now, it’s probably the wise decision.”
“In layman’s terms, ‘We’re all going to be working from home now, since we can no longer afford our massive offices,'” another remarked.
Bungie notably laid off 292 workers at its Bellevue, Washington office in June, marking its third round of layoffs in three years. As per reporting from The Seattle Times, this location employed 1,000 staff members in 2023; the company reportedly laid off approximately 320 employees between October 2023 and July 2024, making this most recent round of layoffs even more brutal.
This latest news follows growing discontent from Bungie’s fanbase, who recently took to the chat en masse during PlayStation’s September State of Play to spam requests for Destiny 3 after the developer ended support for the title in favor of focusing on Marathon earlier this year.
Sources told Forbes that plans were in place to ‘relaunch’ the game as Destiny Infinity, but they were ultimately scrapped. Destiny 3 was also reportedly considered by Bungie, but “things didn’t swing that way.”
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.