Ever since it announced the end of updates for Destiny 2 several months ago, Bungie had left a serious question mark hanging over the future of its flagship series. The American studio had already been through a major restructuring, lost part of its workforce and now had to push on with Marathon, billed as one of its big projects for what comes next. But in a fresh statement posted as a written article, and as a video too, its bosses have finally put Destiny back at the centre of everything. It's a complete about-turn, one that Poria Torkan and Josh Deane lay out while owning up to the mistakes made over the past few years. The pair insist they want to win back players' trust by being far more transparent and by giving their games the time they need.
"It's your Destiny!"
In that video, then, Bungie states loud and clear that Destiny remains "fundamental" to the studio's future. No new instalment has been announced as yet, but the American studio is going to start restoring some of the Destiny 2 content that has been pulled over the years. Everything that was shelved, or outright removed, should gradually find its way back into the game. It's a way for Bungie to walk back a decision that went down very badly with the community, and also to piece back together a chunk of Destiny's story that had become inaccessible over time.
And doing so will be no small job, because the removed sections can't simply be copied and pasted into the current version of the game: Bungie has to rework everything, from technical systems such as lighting to the way combat plays out and how enemies behave, so that it all functions properly in Destiny 2 as it stands today. The studio is talking about a project that will take time — and therefore money...
Marathon is changing too
Bungie obviously has no intention of leaving Marathon by the wayside, but admits the game hasn't attracted or retained as many players as hoped. The studio therefore wants to broaden its concept and push beyond the extraction shooter. The idea is to offer a more fleshed-out survival experience, with more room for co-op PvE, PvP and PvPvE. Upcoming updates will keep evolving the combat and the game world, starting with the Symbiosis update due this December. That said, Bungie concedes that a few statements won't be enough to win players' trust back, and that it now has to prove it through actions. Good luck to them.
