My First Layoff (Year Five)
July 9, 2026
What can I say about it?
Somehow I achieved all my dreams within five and a half years in the game industry. I started as an audio lead in VR on an app that eventually got bought by Meta. Right after that I landed at Riot, my goal company coming out of college. And quickly after that I got hired at Bungie, where I first got to work on my favorite game of all time, and then on a new game launch of an IP refresh. All of that within five years…and what felt like a bright future ahead got cut short by a broken economy, bad decisions, and losing the fun.
I'm not entirely sure what I want to say about the layoffs, so I won't dwell on them too much. What I will say is that Bungie audio, past and present, had some of the best sound designers in the industry. The team was good because we all learned from each other. We cared about the work we were doing and it was never about being better than the next person, it was about how we could help each other get better so the game sounded awesome. The culture there was amazing. Some of the best friendships I've made and some of the most growth I've had in my entire life came from that team. With it gone, there's a real feeling of unknown in me right now.
A few weeks have passed and there aren't a lot of jobs available for sound designers, at least not for me here in the US. Companies want you to move across the country; uproot your whole life and move to a city so expensive you'll never be able to afford a house there, for a job you could do just as well from home. Don't get me wrong, I love being in the office with people and having that connection. But if a company isn't going to pay me enough to buy a house after a one to two years of working there, I don't want to be in the office. I don't want to drive an hour and a half just to go to work. Not healthy, not sustainable, doesn't make sense.
My gut reaction to this layoff, and what I've been doing for the past two weeks, has led me to go back to school for a computer science degree. I know, I know… “AI is coming”, blah blah blah. I still think it'll be helpful, at least for what I'm looking to do with it. I'm not pivoting careers outside of games and I'm not looking to do an office job, but I think a technical background will help a lot in my job search and in some new goals I've set for myself. I'd love to share those with you but I'm not going to. Just know they're coming.
So yeah, I'm not sure what's next for me. Hopefully I can find a game to work on that impacts others just as much as Destiny did me, because I only want to make things for other people. I want to make things that make people feel, make them laugh and cry and experience being human. I want to make things people enjoy. It's entertainment. I just want to be an entertainer. So…
To my old team:
I will forever cherish our time together. I love each and every one of you and I wish we had more time.
To my past self:
Congratulations, you made your dream a reality. Not only did you achieve your goal of working at Bungie on Destiny, but you also got to contribute to the final installment of the Light and Darkness saga and finish the story you started when you were just getting into college. I’m so proud of us.
To my future self:
Check back in around 2030; after this political shit storm is hopefully gone, after the AI bubble has expanded or hopefully burst, after the industry has started to rebuild from this crash. I hope there are new and fresh minds still coming into game audio, and I hope you're still there. I hope you’re helping build them up, passing on the knowledge, generosity, and support you were given by those who came before you.