The annual Game Awards show announced its 2023 nominees and Destiny 2 is nominated for the Best Community Support category. However, this comes just two weeks after Bungie laid off several employees, including part of its community team.
Under the Game Awards nomination tweet, Destiny 2 players are calling out Bungie. Players noted the irony in how the community team was laid off by the developer, but the team's work was being recognized by an industry award show. Former community manager Liana Ruppert replied under the tweet, laughing at this nomination as she, too, was laid off. Also, she tweeted about being proud of the current staff but noted that "Our team has been asking for more people, not laying off half of them."
Destiny 2 relies on its community as a live service game, but Bungie has cut its community team short. Bloomberg reported that about 8% of Bungie employees were laid off in October. Also, IGN spoke to staff who said that people from several departments were let go, and the decision came from Bungie's management.
This nomination shows the disparity in how companies can treat employees poorly but still receive recognition. Games can do well throughout the year, and teams can shine, but developers still have to deal with executives and poor management that make them feel expendable. Game developers had a devastating year, with large and small companies alike letting go of over 6000 employees in the games industry.
