It’s been a red-letter week for Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2, with almost 10% of its staff made redundant, reports of the live service game missing financial and player retention targets by large numbers – 45% below projected revenue – and the all-but-confirmed delay to the next Destiny expansion, ‘The Final Shape’. Players have been unhappy with the direction the game has been heading since the release of Lightfall in February, and the fears for the future are only growing following the reports (that are still) coming out of Bungie. As someone who was a very late adopter of the looter shooter, I, too, am left to wonder what’s next for my Guardian.
I’d tried and failed to get into Destiny 2 a few times. The shooting felt incredible, as did the different powers and abilities available to my guardian. Still, I was lost by the many systems and different ways to play the game. I played The Red War campaign and checked out.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that it finally clicked. The Lightfall reveal and subsequent period of free access made me download the game and give it a go once again. Call of Duty Vanguard hadn’t done much for me, and I dreaded a year of Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2. I was looking for a shooter I could grind and for something to scratch the itch that Zombies usually would give me with an ongoing story that would last over the course of a game’s lifecycle. Destiny delivered this in spades with multiple campaigns, seasonal storylines, various activities and characters, and So. Much. Lore.
After enjoying the week of free access, I snapped up the discounted expansions and the season pass for Season of Plunder, and my guardian set forth on their adventure throughout the Sol system.
As a new light, I first focussed on going through the campaigns and keeping up to date with the seasonal story in Plunder. I gradually grew in confidence and knowledge of how Destiny operated and started to attempt endgame activities like Dungeons and Master seasonal activities.
Some of my highlights were soloing the Prophecy dungeon, finally rolling the exotic bow in Spire of the Watcher, and the entirety of Season of the Seraph, which was a season that mixed great storytelling with fun gameplay situations, culminating in an epic cinematic that really increased my hype for Lightfall, the next expansion.
From a gameplay perspective, Lightfall delivered for me. I really enjoyed the campaign’s variety and set pieces. The storytelling certainly fell a little flat, but I didn’t think it was as bad as others did. Granted, I had a basic understanding of the story and hadn’t been waiting years for resolutions only to be left with fresh questions. New mysteries (like the dreaded “The Veil”) meant I could get in at the ground floor on some theories. I also completed my first ever Raid, the visual feast that was “Root of Nightmares”, and was rewarded with the butterfly cloak for my Hunter. A real beauty.
The Season that launched alongside Lightfall, Season of Defiance, was a bit lacking, though this was understandable as Lightfall’s content came alongside it. Season of the Deep had some interesting things going on, but I could find myself losing the drive to finish seasonal challenges and complete endgame content.
The current season, Season of the Witch, is a welcome change to the formula, focusing on collecting a deck of cards that offer various buffs, abilities and loot. I’m still very much invested in the story, with Eris Morn and Immaru shining this season and the return of the Witch Queen herself, Savathûn.
Although the story may keep me around, the gameplay loop doesn’t look like it will. The last big update was the Festival of the Lost, which is almost identical to the previous year’s event. In 2022, I found this event fresh and exciting as a new light, while others lamented another year of similarity. In 2023, I now understand their frustrations. I played the event the first day and haven’t returned since. After just a year in and around Destiny 2, it feels like I’ve seen it all.
The horrible news coming from Bungie this week arrives at a time when I am already considering how to proceed when it comes to Destiny. With Zombies returning to Call of Duty this year, as well as a much more traditional multiplayer experience, I’m not sure I can balance Call of Duty and Destiny if I’m aiming to “complete” their respective seasons. The thing about live service games – and why I think so many studios are trying to create their own live service games in the hope of striking gold – is that most players can realistically only commit to one or two at a time.
The 45% figure that’s going around screams of unrealistic expectations by those in high places within Bungie and potentially Sony. It’s also not on rank-and-file employees if the current direction for the game is underperforming, but of course, they are the ones that must be sacrificed. Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie, offered an insulting two-tweet statement to say how sad he was to see roughly 10% of employees being made redundant. Maybe if those in leadership positions held themselves accountable and took some responsibility for missing targets and mistakes in planning, jobs could have been saved. Parsons also apparently remarked that he had kept “the right people” to work on Destiny.
It looks like no department was safe from the culling — except, of course, upper management. At least production, editorial, music, community management, talent acquisition, and social media were all hit with lay-offs. The decision to relieve Bungie veteran Michael Salvatori is particularly sore as the composer was a vital part of delivering some of the most emotional moments in Destiny history. You’d think loyalty would get you somewhere, too.
There was also no sort of sympathy. Employees were instantly locked out of systems and offices, unable to say goodbye to friends and peers. Further reports that stated employees had been begging for changes to be made to the game make the whole thing a bit more sore. Player retention and income generated may have been higher if management had listened to developers who paid attention to the community and wanted the game to be the best it could be.
Bungie employees often exclaim “Bungie!” on Social Media to share excitement after positive work meetings. I don’t think we’ll see something like that again anytime soon. Bungie may have lost the support and trust of players before this week began, but now it has lost the support and trust of its staff and industry peers. I hope all affected can land on steady ground and continue their careers in creating art for all to enjoy. It is infuriating that video games make so much money, yet those who contribute to creating them are all on “shoogly pegs”.
As for my Guardian, they’ll likely still be there to see The Final Shape through to its conclusion. Just don’t count on them doing many extracurricular activities. It was an enjoyable year, but the Destiny grind isn’t for me any more.