Destiny 2

Bungie

The end of Destiny 2 has many fans and devs at Bungie in mourning, an abrupt end for an 11-year series that, up until a few weeks ago, had a plan to keep going well into the future. But now, new information has inflamed the community, saying this axing was part of some plot to get back at Bungie for its transgressions against Sony.

I’m here to douse those flames to some extent, as a Bungie source, who asked not to be named on the condition of anonymity, is pushing back against what’s been reported by journalist Sylvain Trinel. Among the claims:

“After speaking with my sources, including some at PlayStation, what stands out is mainly internal resistance/strong pushback. Many people at PlayStation don’t understand the decision made at the top to discontinue D2. Some have told me that there’s a kind of desire for « revenge », as Sony’s leadership reportedly blames Bungie for a number of issues with their GaaS strategy.”

Here’s what my sources said in contrast:

• The impression from my source was that this information from the Sony side was probably gathered from PlayStation employees who would not be in the know about leadership’s motivation and mindset. There are employees who have said out loud (through internal communications) that they are confused about Destiny 2’s cancellation, but this is a company with 12,000 employees. (Trinel disputes that his sources are lower-level and says they are not only within PlayStation).
• This decision was almost entirely about math: profit and loss. Destiny 2 has been losing more money than it’s been making, and it has always been a very expensive game to maintain. Sony is not punishing a studio it owns and still considers a pricey asset out of some desire for “revenge,” and no one at Bungie thinks that’s the case. Bungie is also not being blamed for the failure of games like Concord, as some have suggested, or the large-scale problems with Sony’s recent live-service strategy.
• Trinel has also reported a widely cited figure that says 50% of Bungie is about to be laid off in the wake of Destiny 2’s end of service. I can confirm that I’ve heard a range of potential percentages that…does include that number, but it is not finalized yet. I also know there are scores of Destiny 2 devs just sitting around doing relatively nothing, waiting for this to happen.

Trinel has since said he is sticking to his claims, but I have heard nothing to indicate this high-level “revenge” idea has some sort of basis in reality. Obviously, Sony is not thrilled with Bungie’s performance since its purchase, but there is no desire to “punish” the studio by erasing an entire franchise.

Though of course, just because this may have been a decision based on current math, that doesn’t make it the right one, as fans believe that there is still potential in Destiny, and if Destiny 2 was to be discontinued, atomizing support from here entirely (the game will not even get hotfixes going forward) seems ridiculous. I can, however, confirm there are no plans to shut off servers (Destiny 1 lives on to this day, after all). And if Destiny 2 ended, the obvious notion was to at least announce a Destiny 3 and invest in that. As of now, Sony is not doing that, and the coming layoffs would make that essentially impossible for the indefinite future.

Bungie fans are eagerly looking for someone to blame, and while the finger may very well be pointed at Sony (and often Bungie leadership), the idea that this is somehow “personal” between a publisher and a developer is incorrect, despite Bungie’s underperformance.

Bungie has not yet responded for comment.

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