If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons's statement explaining the reasoning behind laying off 220 employees, some 17% of Bungie's staff, is illuminating. In it, Parsons describes a company that overextended, expanding into too many projects as it tried to incubate multiple games while making Destiny 2, the studio's successful live-service game, and Marathon, a revival of a storied Bungie franchise. "We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red," Parsons wrote. The result of this mismanagement is that 220 Destiny 2 developers from all teams lost their jobs, which is in addition to a previous massive round of layoffs in late 2023.

But critically, this second group of Destiny 2 developers lost their jobs at Bungie right after shipping arguably the best expansion the game has ever seen. Developers reportedly knew The Final Shape was make-or-break for the studio, and Bungie's staff responded to that call by turning out a phenomenal addition to the game. Less than two months later, they learned that their herculean efforts to make money for the company were not enough to save their jobs.

The Final Shape should have saved Bungie. It was a phenomenal expansion that received acclaim from critics and players, and despite the major stumble that was the Lightfall expansion in the year before it, The Final Shape still had the momentum of 10 years of Destiny 2 investment behind it. And yet, according to Stephen Totilo's reporting at Game File, The Final Shape has sold less well than Lightfall. That makes some degree of sense--Lightfall saw huge sales thanks to the hype that resulted from The Witch Queen, the expansion immediately before it, which was also excellent. Lightfall was a major disappointment, and players burned by it were less likely to turn out for The Final Shape.

If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience

If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience

If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience

If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience

If Destiny 2 Is To Survive, It Needs A Real New Player Experience