10 Years Later, Destiny Makes Good On a Promise As Another is Made
Destiny 2’s recent DLC, The Final Shape, was a massive success, exceeding player expectations and delivering extra content.
Today marks 10 years since the release of Bungie’s first new IP since Halo with Destiny launching on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. While the original game was arguably too short-lived for its potential, Bungie came back with a sequel backed by Activision in 2017, with the game being a far cry from the Destiny 2 of modern days. Destiny 2 has evolved a lot over the years, and it became one of the greatest success stories of the live-service approach, which revitalized the title after a content draught on launch. Now, 10 years later, Bungie has fulfilled its promise to deliver a finale for the Light and Darkness saga with The Final Shape, and the studio is committing to a different, bittersweet promise.
Destiny 2‘s The Final Shape was a massive success, delivering on every key aspect Bungie needed it to and even blowing players’ expectations out of the water with extra content and quality. This was exactly what the team needed back in June, especially after a rough launch of Lightfall in 2023 and a series of controversies. However, it was not all roses, and despite the DLC’s smashing success, the game is back to a rather low point.
Destiny 2 Needs to Deliver On Frontiers Like it Did With The Final Shape
Destiny 2: Frontiers Must Ensure Bungie Delivers on Its Newest Promise
Today, Bungie will unveil a 10-year anniversary event for Destiny 2, though it is meant to be a small-scale celebration according to the latest TWID post. More importantly, Destiny 2: Frontiers will be talked about, discussing where the game is going (quite literally, assuming the “Frontiers” keyword refers to exploring out of the Sol system). While there will most likely be something good here, this is part of a bigger issue within Bungie and its subsequent promise to keep the lights on. In fact, after The Final Shape’s success, the company had to cut over 200 jobs for monetary issues, and with insider reports talking about management and the future of the game, community morale quickly dropped.
This doesn’t make the incredible hit that was The Final Shape any less so, and the expansion will likely go down as Destiny 2‘s best DLC ever – even beating Destiny‘s The Taken King. However, it’s hard not to look at the space magic looter-shooter’s state right now, with reports indicating there won’t be any more yearly expansions as fans have come to know them. With fears about Destiny 2 “dying” following the reports, Bungie is committing to a new promise – that of not abandoning the game.
Why Destiny 2: Frontiers Is Carrying The Weight of the World on Its Shoulders
Whether Destiny 2 will continue to grow and move past these issues remains to be seen, but today marks a big day for the franchise both in terms of what it has achieved thus far – a celebration of the stories told – and what kind of stories it will be able to tell beyond its 10-year saga. Moving out of the Sol system could be a massive step in the right direction for the game, as Destiny 2‘s lore is rich with planets and creatures that have yet to be explored more thoroughly.
Still, The Final Shape raised the bar for what a Destiny 2 expansion can be, and following up on that is no easy task. The way Destiny 2 handled Cayde-6’s return was incredible, as was the culmination of the battle against The Witness through a 12-player activity like none before it. These remain huge accomplishments for the game, showing that Bungie is indeed capable of making good on its promises – which is what it needs to do once again by proving that Destiny 2 is not going anywhere, not even after Marathon’s release if it becomes a hit.
