UPDATE: Bloomberg has reported that Bungie is planning ‘significant’ layoffs and that Destiny 3 is not in the works. Bungie will pitch other Destiny projects while the remaining team sustain and support Marathon.
The original story follows:
Bungie announced earlier today that Destiny 2 support is coming to an end as its next update will be its last. Naturally, fans are pretty upset.
The news come after a tumultuous few years for Bungie. In 2022, Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion and ever since then, things have been rocky. Last year, Sony noted that Bungie was failing to meet expectations when it came to Destiny 2’s performance, resulting in a $204 million impairment loss. The losses have continued to pile up, as Sony recently noted a $765 impariment loss following the release of Marathon earlier this year. Now, Bungie is shifting away from Destiny 2 while promising big changes for Marathon.
Fans have responded to the Destiny 2 news with great sadness, fearing this may be the beginning of the end for Bungie. “It’s over for Bungie,” speculated a user on X. “Destiny 2 died so Marathon could die a little bit later,” said another user.
Others are more hopeful, taking it to possibly mean that Destiny 3 is on the way and Bungie is ending support for an older game in favor of supporting a new one. “This is the correct call. It should’ve ended years ago with Witch Queen leaving us on a cliffhanger until D3. Here’s hoping that they finally put their focus on a Destiny 3, and we can get back to playing every day again,” said an optimistic fan.
Another fan noted that they hoped Bungie isn’t sacrificing Destiny for Marathon: “I hope Destiny 3 is in early development, this franchise deserves better than being abandoned for Marathon.”
Some are not as convinced of the move signaling a rosier future for Destiny, though. “That’s not how I’m reading it. You wouldn’t announce the end of Destiny 2 without a clear commitment to future Destiny titles,” said The Verge’s Tom Warren.
Former Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn also reflected on the news, expressing how much he valued his time working on the series. “Destiny made a mark on me as a player first. Getting a chance to work in that world is an honor I’ll never fully be able to repay,” Blackburn wrote on X. “Both in and out of game, Destiny 2 forged the core memories that made me who I am today. Thanks to everyone who brought the tower to life everyday.”
Ultimately, the future remains extremely unclear. Bungie has more projects incubating and one of them is likely Destiny 3, but just because something is in the very early stages doesn’t mean it will release. Incubation projects are largely done so teams can prototype and figure out future games before greenlighting them for full production with big budgets and milestones. Respawn Entertainment canceled two incubation projects last year, so there’s no telling what will come of these titles.
Either way, Bungie will continue to update Marathon. The team recently confirmed it was adding more PvE content, likely as a way to lure in players who aren’t into the PVP extraction gameplay. Marathon may evolve into something a bit more broad to cater to a wider player base. The game’s player counts are significantly lower than Destiny 2, so it’ll be interesting to see if Bungie can turn it all around.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
