Bungie tries to sublease massive HQ after 2021 expansion
In 2021, while the gaming world was basking in the glow of massive growth, studio CEO Pete Parsons announced plans for a truly epic move: a massive expansion of Bungie’s headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. This was envisioned as a sprawling campus, reportedly costing “hundreds of millions” of dollars, intended to accommodate the future of game development.
The vision involved transforming the existing office space from just 84,000 square feet into a facility of just under 211,000 square feet. It was a monumental undertaking driven by an ambitious vision for growth and opportunity.
However, the journey from grand expansion to current reality has proven to be a bumpy one. After five and a half years of ambitious spending, challenging product launches, project cancellations, and repeated corporate restructuring, the physical footprint seems less like a hub of innovation and more like a space ripe for a fresh lease.
Today, Bungie is actively seeking subletters for its expansive headquarters. The listing details a “turn-key” production facility spanning 210,984 square feet. Beyond standard office space, the available facility includes premium amenities designed for a modern creative team, such as a dedicated lobby, gym and exercise facilities complete with a rock climbing wall, a motion-capture studio, a cafe, and a private exterior patio.
This shift reflects a change in focus, prioritizing remote collaboration and evolving workplace needs over the physical size of the space. Bungie has formally adopted remote work eligibility for most roles, underscoring a decision to redefine where and how the team collaborates.
The corporate trajectory, however, has been anything but smooth. The ambition for expansion and acquisition, fueled by the post-pandemic boom and low interest rates, ultimately led to unsustainable growth. When the inevitable economic headwinds arrived, the costs of this overextension became starkly apparent for the studio.
The financial pressures culminated in a series of dramatic workforce adjustments. Following the fallout from the end of live service for Destiny 2, Bungie implemented mass layoffs. This began in October 2023, affecting roughly 100 employees, followed by another significant reduction in July 2024, where 220 developers were cut as the studio aggressively refocused its priorities.
The situation only intensified. As the studio navigated further shifts in the industry, including leadership changes, another sweeping layoff occurred in June 2026, impacting at least 292 jobs. This process effectively saw the team nearly wiped out, as the workforce shrank dramatically from its peak of over 1,600 employees down to just under 600.
The story of Bungie’s headquarters is a potent reminder of the tension between corporate ambition and fiscal reality. What began as a quest for massive physical space has evolved into a negotiation over space, reflecting the complex and often brutal economics of the modern games industry.
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