Destiny developer Bungie goes fully remote in some states

Destiny 2 developer Bungie announced Tuesday that it will move toward a “digital-first” studio culture, meaning many employees won’t have to physically work at the studio’s Bellevue, Washington headquarters. In a year where some companies — like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games — are mandating a return-to-office without mask or vaccine requirements, Bungie is transitioning many positions to this “fully remote” structure in seven approved states.

Bungie was purchased by Sony Interactive Entertainment in January for $3.6Billion. Sony Interactive Entertainment has yet to confirm if any other studios will use a similar structure. Polygon has reached Sony to get clarification.

“Bungie is going digital-first,” Bungie tweeted Tuesday. “Most current and future roles will be fully remote eligible in these states with more coming soon!”

Washington, California (or Oregon), Illinois, Florida and North Carolina are currently eligible for remote Bungie work. Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn tweeted that the approved states are limited due to state regulations around taxes: “It takes time to setup a business this large to operate legally in so many different territories.” We’ve reached out to Bungie for more information.

Bungie lists dozens of positions on its careers page. Many of these are available for remote or hybrid work in the seven US states. Only a few positions require people to work onsite in Bungie’s Bellevue office.

A switch to a “digital-first” office culture is in stark contrast to other gaming companies, like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games, both of which are requiring a number of employees to return to physical offices. At California-based Activision Blizzard, more than 100 workers walked out of work in early April to protest the company’s dropped COVID-19 vaccine mandate and its return-to-office policy. In response, Activision Blizzard has changed its guidelines so that individual studios can make their own decisions. However, the overall policy of the company is to not require vaccination against coronavirus.

Riot Games, an LA-based company, asked its workers to come back to work in April. While some employees were confused and angry about the vaccine and dropped mask requirements, others welcomed the return to their physical offices. Two work-from home days are allowed by the company, Tuesday to Thursday is mandatory. Masks are “strongly” encouraged, but optional, at Riot and the company is doing contract tracing via an app and RFID chips, employees told Polygon. One employee described the first week as “quietly chaotic.”

In a statement to Vice, a Riot Games spokesperson said Riot followed the lead of California’s local regulations.

There was a global switch to entirely remote work by video games companies during the COVID-19 crisis. This transition certainly led to delayed games as studios adjusted to the change, but it’s also allowed workers more flexibility and a better work-life balance. Working from home keeps workers safer during the ongoing pandemic, but it’s also allowed people to move away from expensive game development hubs like San Francisco or Seattle. It can be less expensive to work from home — potential decreasing daycare and commuting costs.

“Parents of younger children will be forced to bring their child into a daycare, which is expensive and could further increase the chances of infection,” one Activision Blizzard worker told Polygon. “Gas prices are increasing and most of the affordable housing is miles away from the offices.”

Studio owners will have to adapt to be competitive in order to retain top talent. A “digital-first” studio culture is one way to do so, and Bungie will find no shortage of developers in those approved seven states, many of which are already home to other video game companies, like Epic Games in North Carolina.