U-turn at Bungie: "Destiny" has a future again
Bungie is bringing removed campaigns, locations, and raids back to "Destiny 2". At the same time, the studio is announcing further storylines and games in the Destiny universe.
Back in May, the future of «Destiny 2» looked bleak. At the time, Bungie declared «Into the Light» to be the last planned live-service content update. Active development was set to end as the studio dedicated itself to its next games. The update was released on June 9.
Four months later, Bungie is changing course. Destiny is fundamental to the studio's future, the new leadership explains in a blog post. They also clarify:
We are far from done with ‹Destiny›.
Old content to return
The first step concerns «Destiny 2». Bungie intends to bring back campaigns, locations, and raids from the so-called Destiny Content Vault. This is where older content that the studio had removed from the game has landed since 2020. Bungie has not yet revealed which of these will return first. They are intended to be accessible to all players.
Bungie introduced the Content Vault in 2020 to limit the constantly growing scope of «Destiny 2» and to facilitate technical maintenance.
Source: Bungie
Today, the studio views this decision much more critically. Removing the content had a lasting negative impact on player trust and enjoyment. Bungie now wants to at least partially correct the consequences and make important parts of the story accessible again.
Simply re-importing old files is not enough for this, according to Bungie. Since «Beyond Light», the studio has changed several technical systems. Therefore, the team must rework lighting, enemies, encounters, and other fundamental game areas, among other things. Bungie has not yet provided a date for the first returning content. Further details are expected in the coming months.
Notable change of course after layoffs
The new direction is also notable because Bungie cut around 300 jobs at the end of June. A large part of the previous «Destiny» team was affected by this. At the time, the studio justified the move by citing, among other things, the end of active development for «Destiny 2».
However, Bungie does not say how large the team is that is now working on the returning content and other Destiny projects.
Bungie is thinking beyond «Destiny 2»
Bungie describes the restoration of old content as the first step for the future of the series. New stories and games are to follow later. The studio leaves open what exactly that entails. Bungie has not yet announced a «Destiny 3».
The community's reaction also influenced Bungie's further planning. After the announcement of the final content update, many players spoke out clearly. Bungie writes that these reactions had a real impact.
In the future, Bungie wants to be more transparent about priorities and changes to its plans and place greater weight on player satisfaction.
Marathon to evolve
«Marathon» also plays an important role in Bungie's future. Bungie admits that the extraction shooter has reached fewer players than hoped so far. While «Marathon» has received positive feedback and worked well for a portion of the player base, it is apparently not enough for the studio's long-term goals.
Source: Bungie
Therefore, Bungie wants to develop the game beyond the current genre boundaries. A broader survival experience with more opportunities to explore the game world is planned. In the first year, combat, the world, and competition are to be expanded, among other things. Additionally, Bungie wants to better support cooperative PvE, competitive PvP, and the existing PvPvE side-by-side.
A «Nightfall Refresh» is planned for October, and the larger «Symbiosis» update is to follow in December. Bungie intends to announce further details on the long-term direction of «Marathon» later.
My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all
