The Destiny 2 community has given much thought to the future of the game and its current direction. Rumors about a possible end due to bad mood and player numbers as well as the developer’s focus on new projects, for which the shooter would allegedly be exploited to the last spark, made the rounds. In a new interview, game director Joe Blackburn clarified a few things.
The essentials in brief:
Which interview is it about? The Final Form will officially mark the end of the first Destiny 2 saga of light and darkness. But contrary to some claims, Bungie is already preparing for the future of Destiny 2.
To find out exactly what that future looks like, The Verge’s Tom Warren sat down for an interview with game director Joe Blackburn. A lot was made clear in the process.
MeinMMO summarizes the most important points from the interview for you, while this video gives you a visual outlook into the future:
Bungie Addresses Fan Concerns
Destiny 2 will not disappear after 2025: It’s no secret that “The Final Form” is the official title for the ending of the first Destiny 2 saga of light and darkness, and will mark a significant conclusion.
But contrary to some assumptions, Destiny 2 is anything but at the end. Rather, the game is at a turning point, with Bungie using its years of experience to shape and optimize the future of its loot shooter.
According to Blackburn, the assumption that Bungie has been focusing on new games and neglecting Destiny 2 since its acquisition by Sony is a misconception. The studio continues to place great value on the Destiny universe and continues to strive to improve and expand the gaming experience.
What we’re trying to avoid is scaring people that Destiny 2 is going away. It doesn’t. Our support for this does not end. We’re just trying to focus on what’s ahead and not widen the conversation into the next two years.
explained Joe Blackburn
This indicates that the studio is likely still working on the future development of story elements in Destiny 2, aside from the current focus on The Final Form and the year ahead.
New generation of Guardians is a growing community
More and more new lights find destiny: In terms of player numbers, Blackburn is also optimistic and even revealed a small success story from the current DLC “Lightfall”.
One of our secret Lightfall success stories… the players we’ve gained over the past year are more loyal to Destiny than ever.
reveals the game director
This is attributed to the success of the Guardian Rank system. It’s the best way for new players to navigate the Destiny experience and complete activities to improve their character.
Destiny 2 only gets boring because you’re too lazy
So while the veterans of Destiny 1 and 2 don’t seem to enjoy the loot shooter much anymore and have become big critics and disappointed fans, it seems now that the newcomers are choosing Destiny 2.
Like the first Destiny players, they roam the vast universe and all of its content with remarkable dedication and passion.
Entry hurdles will be further abolished: The development in Destiny 2 shows that Bungie’s efforts to expand the player base to the next generation of players seem to have met with fruitful soil. And so more and more entry hurdles for this group of players are abolished:
What about the future of PvP?
After neglecting the PvP community in Destiny 2 for far too long, Bungie backtracked on the issue in mid-August.
We know that the strategy we’ve been using for PvP for the past two years isn’t working. Let’s introduce a change of strategy here. This will require resources from other parts of the game, but we feel this is important now. We’re going to make that compromise in a way, but it’s not a compromise that we make lightly. It is definitely a change that is needed internally and externally.
explained Joe Blackburn the belated insight
No shortage of PvP developers at Destiny 2
Bungie is a team that works together as a whole: What Joe Blackburn clarified in this regard is that they didn’t pull all of Destiny 2’s PvP talent to create Bungie’s extraction shooter, Marathon. However, this has been repeatedly claimed by players in recent weeks.
While it is true that former PvP developers such as Kevin Yanes (Senior Design Lead) have moved to Marathon. But that should not be a disadvantage for Destiny.
When we have resources and minds to turn to a problem, there is nothing we shy away from. We also have some professionals with long experience […] while some of these individuals are doing great things that are necessary for the future of the company, no one is afraid to walk up to them and say, hey, could you come over and try this? Can you help us on this [in Destiny 2] help? There are no 10 foot walls at Bungie where we don’t share or nurture these talents.
explained Joe Blackburn about the way Bungie works
The interview may have cleared up some of the speculation and uncertainty currently being discussed in the community. It’s fair to say that Destiny 2 remains an integral part of the gaming landscape for Bungie, and will continue to be nurtured and developed to delight new Guardians and veterans alike. The latter, however, only if they still want to be inspired at all.
Are you compelled by Bungie’s focus on maintaining and evolving Destiny 2 beyond 2025 while also tackling new projects? Feel free to comment what you think about it.
Or do you prefer to focus on the things that are fun? Like this:
Destiny 2: New Aspect from Season 22 is absurdly strong, making you an almost indestructible spirit