Destiny 2 has never been this good. 2021 was marked by excellent seasonal content and storytelling and the brand-new The Witch Queen expansion is arguably the best Destiny expansion so far.
I figured it would be a good time to reflect upon the future of the franchise. And more precisely, whether Sony’s acquisition of Destiny 2’s developer, Bungie, will affect it.
Creative freedom and Sony’s acquisition
First things first. When Bungie announced it was being acquired by Sony, Playstation’s parent company, many worried that Destiny 2 could eventually become a Playstation-exclusive. Or that Destiny 2 would be flooded with Playstation-only content. After all, that was a reality during the first years of Destiny 1.
But Bungie was extremely quick to make a crucial statement: Destiny 2 will not be affected by this acquisition.
As confirmed on Bungie’s official statement:
Our commitment to Destiny 2 as a multi-platform game with full Cross Play remains unchanged. We want you to play The Witch Queen on February 22, 2022, on the platform of YOUR choice.
Equally important, when asked whether announced seasons, events, packs, or expansions would be changed or impacted by Bungie becoming part of PlayStation, the answer is clear:
No. Bungie retains full creative independence for our games and our community. Our plans for the Light and Dark Saga are unchanged, all the way through The Final Shape in 2024.
Do note that the statement applies to “announced” expansions or seasons. This implies that releases that are further away and have not been announced yet could be impacted. Still, the statements from Bungie are full of optimism and make it clear that they will retain their creative freedom:
We remain in charge of our destiny. We will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games. We will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community.
My first reaction is that this deal seems to good to be true. Bungie keeps its full creative freedom while receiving billions from Sony. But it’s clear that Sony’s strategy lies beyond Destiny 2. They don’t want the game, they want the talent that created it. In fact, several interviews have surfaced that Sony plans to create several live service games and Destiny 2 is one of the best live service games in the market.
The future of Destiny 2
If we consider that Destiny 2’s immediate future is safe with Sony, what can we expect in the coming years?
The immediate plans have already been revealed. There are still 2 expansions planned for Destiny 2: Lightfall and The Final Shape. If we assume that they will be released yearly, their release schedule will look something like this:
- February – March 2023: Lightfall expansion
- February – March 2024: The Final Shape expansion
These expansions have been announced already and therefore, according to Bungie’s statement, won’t be affected by Sony’s acquisition. But what happens after 2024?
Will Destiny 3 release in 2025?
This is where things get muddy and we enter the realm of pure speculation. Absolutely nothing has been said about the future of the Destiny franchise after The Final Shape expansion. But the topic of Destiny 3 has been discussed more than once by Bungie’s leadership. Journalists love to bring Destiny 3 to the table, and while Bungie’s leadership prefers to change the topic, they have said it could be possible.
One thing is certain, though, the Destiny franchise will continue beyond The Final Shape:
The Light and Darkness saga will come to a dramatic conclusion in Destiny 2: The Final Shape.
Make no mistake. Destiny 2 will continue beyond. pic.twitter.com/LwA14MIq0e
— Destiny 2 (@DestinyTheGame) August 24, 2021
If we take what little information we have and look at the facts, it is extremely likely that Destiny will go through a massive change in 2025. If the plan was to simply continue with the core Destiny 2 experience and in-game engine, Bungie would be better off simply releasing more expansions.
If the aim is to get to a conclusion of the Destiny 2 story with The Final Shape, it would also be the perfect time to rebrand the game, take the opportunity to significantly update the experience, and market it as a new thing.
Again, this is all pure speculation, but I believe it is unlikely the Destiny experience would be rebranded “Destiny 3”. If Bungie’s aim is to create a long-lasting game, like World of Warcraft, it would make more sense to rebrand the game as simply “Destiny”.
Only time will tell…
0 Comments