Bungie is Bringing Destiny Back From the Dead
Following a lot of teary goodbyes when the Destiny 2 live service era ended, Bungie's studio head Poria Torkan and head of product Josh Deane have come out to say that reports of Destiny's death are greatly exaggerated…
Following a lot of teary goodbyes when the Destiny 2 live service era ended, Bungie's studio head Poria Torkan and head of product Josh Deane have come out to say that reports of Destiny's death are greatly exaggerated.
Speaking in a vlog posted on Bungie's social media accounts, the heads have acknowledged that the community's voices "made a real impact," and as a result, Bungie is "not done with Destiny."
The plan is to "return Destiny to its original promise," with a focus on restoring vaulted content that is currently no longer accessible in order to honor the game's legacy.
In a dev diary uploaded to Bungie's official website, Torkan and Deane clarify that this is not quite a 180-degree turn from the decision to move on from Destiny 2, but an attempt to do right by the community and what Destiny has come to mean for players.
Restoring Destiny to Its Original Promise
Destiny has been the heart of Bungie since the studio's independence from Microsoft. Since the series' first release in 2014, the game has grown into one of the most remarkable online shooters ever made, with Destiny 2 (2017) carrying the company through the better part of the decade.
Bungie's studio head Poria Torkan and head of product Josh Deane have come out to say that reports of Destiny's death are greatly exaggerated.
The company got a huge cash injection in 2022 following a $3.6 billion takeover by Sony Interactive Entertainment, but financial reports show that investment didn't quite pay off. This year's decision to move on from Destiny 2 to supporting Marathon exclusively was followed by layoffs and a lot of heartfelt messages from the community, and the latter seems to have energized Bungie to give Destiny one more push.
Per Torkan and Deane, the first step on this course-correction is to bring back vaulted Destiny 2 campaigns, areas, and raids, so that veterans can revisit some core memories and new players get to experience these for the first time.
The specifics remain shrouded in mystery, but Bungie will drop more details about its unvaulting project in the coming months.
Marathon is No Longer a Sprint
In spite of effectively replacing Destiny as the flagship title for Bungie, Torkan and Deane say Marathon was never designed as a replacement title.
Marathon has been under constant scrutiny from SteamDB hawks over its player count, and Bungie acknowledges that sales have yet to match the excellent critical reception.
The game currently boasts a strong visual identity and engaging gameplay loop, and Bungie plans to capitalize on its potential as a survival game going forward.
The next step for Marathon is the October Nightfall Refresh, followed by the Symbiosis update in December. The latter will mark the game's first permanent PvE mode, which should ease concerns about the skill gap for more casual players.
As Bungie tries to reinvent itself, its leadership acknowledges that "trust won't be rebuilt through a single blog, video, or release," but the transparency and attention to community feedback are a great start.