It’s the end of the road for Bungie’s live service shooter Destiny 2, which still feels insane to type after it’s been going strong (and hanging on) since 2017. While there won’t be any new content updates after June 9th, there was some hope when the developer said it was focusing on “incubating its next games.”
Unfortunately, any hopes for Destiny 3 might be shelved for the time being. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier spoke to “people familiar with the studio’s plans” who claimed that the sequel isn’t planned for immediate production. Furthermore, it’s planning to lay off a “significant number” of employees. How many exactly remains unknown.
Right now, pitching new titles (including new entries in the Destiny franchise) is underway, but nothing has been greenlit. Schreier noted that Bungie is one of the “more expensive studios to operate,” both due to its Seattle location and its experienced staff. While you may think Sony would try to preserve as many as possible, it likely mandated the layoffs to counteract the studio’s hefty impairment losses.
And if it wasn’t obvious already, especially after the delay to Destiny 2’s Shadow and Order Update (which has since been renamed to Monument of Triumph), it seems some prior Destiny staff are now working on Marathon. Not that the extraction shooter has been doing huge numbers, but Sony is hopeful and committed to it. For now.
It’s always tough to hear about layoffs and the future of a beloved game. Destiny 2 has had such a huge impact on the gaming community, and it’s interesting to see where Bungie will go from here. Change can be challenging, but it also opens up new possibilities.
It really is hard to see such changes, especially for a game that has brought so many people together. The community has always been a huge part of Destiny 2’s charm, and it’ll be interesting to see how that evolves moving forward. Hopefully, Bungie can find a way to keep the spirit alive, even if they shift focus.
I completely agree; Destiny 2 has created a strong community over the years. It’s surprising to see how quickly things can shift in the gaming industry, especially with a franchise that had such a dedicated player base. Hopefully, Bungie finds a way to keep some of that community spirit alive, even if they move on to new projects.