Bungie CEO Steps Down After Destiny 2 Delay
Bungie has revealed that the studio president Harold Ryan has stepped down, to be replaced by longtime member of staff Pete Parsons in the role of CEO. The new comes just a few days after speculation arose from numerous sources that Destiny 2 had been delayed by the developer and was unlikely to hit its target of a September 2016 release.
The news came in a short statement directly from Bungie’s own website, although went into no detail about why the change had taken place.
“I want to personally thank Harold for his friendship, passion, hard work, and dedication in helping make Bungie the great company it is today,” Parsons said. “As a team, we celebrated many victories and weathered many storms.
“To the players of Destiny, I want you to know that my number one priority, and Bungie’s, is and always has been to deliver great games that we can all share together. I believe that Destiny is a one-of-a-kind experience. I also believe you have yet to see our studio’s best work. My new role here at the studio will be entirely focused on fulfilling that promise.
“This is yet another new beginning, and a new challenge for our studio. We remain committed to creating great experiences in Destiny.”
Ryan began working at Bungie as a tester on the original Halo title and worked his way through the company before he was eventually promoted to the role of producer on Halo 2 and later studio manager. He was a key component of the studio’s move for independence from Microsoft and became president in 2008.
Meanwhile, Pete Parsons has been on the board of directors at Bungie for a number of years and was previously the COO before taking up this new role. He too began his career at Bungie working on Halo: Combat Evolved.
While Destiny has certainly been a commercial success since its initial release, it has faced a number of criticisms from players and critics about the content included in the main game and expansions. The studio has listened to a lot of this feedback in the last few months, leading to wholesale changes in The Taken King, but has still faced calls for more content ahead of the sequel. This, combined with the apparent delay of Destiny 2, may have forced the developer to act to change its leadership to ensure a good relationship with publisher Activision.