Pete Parsons has announced his departure from Bungie after being CEO for nearly a decade.
Parsons shared the news in a blog post, adding that Bungie’s chief development officer Justin Truman will step into his role.
“This journey has been the honour of a lifetime,” wrote Parsons. “I am deeply proud of the worlds we’ve built together and most of all I am privileged by the opportunity to work alongside the incredible minds at Bungie.”
“When I was asked to lead Bungie in 2015, my goal was to grow us into a studio capable of creating and sustaining iconic, generation-spanning entertainment.”
Parsons detailed what Bungie has accomplished during his tenure, including the launch of Destiny 2, its exit from Activision in 2019, and Sony acquiring the studio for $3.6 billion in 2022.
He initially joined Bungie in 2002 as an executive producer and studio manager, working on Halo 2 and Halo 3. Parsons took over Bungie in 2016 following the departure of former CEO Harold Ryan.
Speaking of Truman, Parsons said he has “full confidence” that he is the “right person to lead Bungie forward”.
“I have worked alongside Justin for many years,” said Parsons. “His passion for our games, our team, and our players is unmatched.
“As a leader in engineering, production, and design – and most recently as the general manager for Destiny 2 and our chief development officer – he has been instrumental in bringing some of the most memorable moments in Bungie’s history to life.”
In a statement from Truman, he reflected on what Bungie has gotten right, and what it’s gotten wrong.
“When we’re at our best, we create [these] worlds alongside you, our player community, and build something that matters,” he wrote.
“I’ve also been part of these efforts at Bungie when we’ve maybe not been at our best. When we’ve stumbled and realised through listening to our community that we had missed the mark.”
He continued: “I know I’ve personally learned a lot over the years, as have all of us here, from those conversations. I am committed to supporting and working alongside every member of the team here as we continue pouring our hearts and souls into these worlds.
“We are hard at work right now doing that – both with Marathon and Destiny. We’re currently heads down, but we’ll have more to show you in both of these worlds later this year.”
“I am committed to supporting and working alongside the team as we continue pouring our hearts and souls into these worlds”
Justin Truman
During Parson’s tenure as Bungie CEO, an IGN report detailed claims of sexism, racism, and systemic discrimination at the developer experienced by current and former employees.
“I am not here to refute or to challenge the experiences being shared by people who have graced our studio with their time and talent,” said Parsons.
“Our actions or, in some cases, inactions, caused these people pain. I apologise personally and on behalf of everyone at Bungie who I know feel a deep sense of empathy and sadness reading through these accounts.”
Parsons also oversaw waves of layoffs, including the loss of 17% of Bungie’s headcount last July.
At the time, he cited Bungie’s “rapid expansion” during an “economic slowdown” and a “sharp downturn in the games industry” as prevailing factors.
“We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running into the red,” he said.
This June, Bungie announced the delay of its upcoming title Marathon which was initially due to launch on September 23, 2025.
Following Sony’s latest financials, the firm’s chief financial officer Lin Tao confirmed that Sony expects Marathon to launch “within this fiscal year”.
“Based on the progress, in the autumn time frame, we believe we can communicate when we will be launching [Marathon],” said Tao during an earnings call. “We believe this launch will happen.”
Looking at Bungie overall, Sony said the developer is becoming less of an independent subsidiary, and is instead merging more into PlayStation Studios.
“At the time of the acquisition, we were offering a very independent environment,” Tao added. “However, thereafter, we have gone through structural reform.”
“This type of independence is getting lighter. Bungie is shifting into a role which is becoming more part of PlayStation Studios. In the long term, the direction is for [Bungie] to become part of PlayStation Studios.”
