Michael Salvatori Among Employees Laid off at Bungie; Update: Michael Sechrist also Let Go

Earlier today Carson Reed, CEO of CinemaMotions, mentioned their internal sources confirmed composer Michael Salvatori was among those let go at Bungie.

While this is still technically unconfirmed, earlier today Salvatori updated his website’s listing of his work history to simply “GONE FISHIN’ :).”

When checking WayBack Machine the website previously had the following description.

Michael Salvatori has been writing music for video games since 1997. His first game was Bungie’s Myth: The Fallen Lords. Since then he has contributed music to every Bungie release, including Myth 2: Soulblighter, Oni, and the first five Halo games (2001-2010). He has also composed music for Stubbs the Zombie (2005), Hail to the Chimp (2008), and Disney’s Guilty Party (2010).

Michael began writing music for Bungie’s Destiny in 2012, and he continues to this day along with co-writers Skye Lewin, Josh Mosser and Michael Sechrist. These soundtracks have won numerous awards, including ASCAP’s video game soundtrack of the year for Destiny: Rise of Iron in 2016. They are currently working on music for Destiny 2: The Final Shape (working title).

Wayback Machine

As mentioned in the overview above, Salvatori is one of the few remaining members at Bungie who worked on Halo: Combat Evolved back in 2001. His work is also among the most consistently praised elements in Destiny. Given he contributed to the upcoming expansion, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, we will likely not see what Destiny 2 sounds like without him until sometime later.

Update: Michael Sechrist has also updated his personal site to “GONE FISHIN’ with SALVATORI…” Not only does this show Bungie removed two notable composers, essentially confirms Salvatori was without question let go.

Those unfamiliar with Sechrist’s work might be surprised to hear he contributed to various Destiny expansions over the years. Arguably the most notable being Deep Stone Lullaby. This song plays during the jumping puzzle in Deep Stone Crypt and frequently mentioned as one of the best, if not the absolute best, song in all of Destiny’s history.

At this time Bungie has not revealed everything that transpired today. Rumors indicate Destiny 2: The Final Shape will now release in June, 2023, and Marathon was pushed into 2024.