Destiny 2 has recently been criticized for its too predictable story structure. In an interview with MeinMMO, Bungie admitted this and explained that starting in June 2024, they will aim to surprise players more frequently with new episodic content want.
Bungie wants to change this soon: For some die-hard Destiny 2 fans, excitement has diminished because they find the seasons too predictable. Gradually, a growing fatigue has spread due to the current season model, which has been received less and less positively. In a recent roundtable interview with MeinMMO, Bungie acknowledged that they are aware of this fact.
“Speaking only for the narrative team, we hear our community loud and clear that the structure of our story may have become predictable, even though the quality of the story is still high.”
said Jonathan To, Lead Narrative Designer at Bungie
This is one of the reasons why moving away from the stagnant season model in June 2024 has been a top priority for Bungie.
Exciting Episodes instead of Predictable Seasons
The old season model is obsolete: Starting June 4, 2024, with the release of the new DLC “The Final Form”, Bungie will scrap its old season model.
- Instead of four seasons per year, they will now release episodes, each lasting about ten weeks.
- Each episode will be divided into three acts, with larger narrative segments leading to new weapons and armor, activities, and other content.
This change aims to allow developers to be more flexible and present the story in a less predictable format.
- Episodic content will introduce new stories and characters without having to adhere to a rigid format.
- Thus, there will be more room for unexpected twists and surprising events, which will surely please some guardians who have grown tired of the old season model.
The exact dates of the episodes are listed in this article: Destiny 2 will soon abandon seasons to avoid player burnout – Here’s what they are doing now
What kind of content will that be? Unfortunately, Bungie did not want to reveal that to us. Jonathan To just said:
We are currently working on a number of things that we cannot explicitly share, but that involve a change in structure so that we can pleasantly surprise you more often in the future.
As a small compensation, Nicco Stevens and Ryan Baker instead revealed to us how the “Nezareck” tastes, which was widely discussed in the Destiny community during the “Season of Plunder.”
- It was a black brew made from the body parts of Nezarek, a disciple of the Witness.
- The Orisis, weakened by Savathûn’s attack, had to drink it to recover, and some guardians still wonder how it might have tasted.
Both Bungie developers agree that it tasted like licorice. So not bad for a centuries-old alien that was crumbled into tea.
Why have seasons become so boring? In response to the question of how the seasonal storylines of Destiny 2 became so predictable and thus boring, Bungie’s narrative team points to the constraints that come with developing a live service game at such a constant and rapid pace.
“When you create a framework for how content should be created, it facilitates the rapid production of that content because everyone pulls together. But it can also become predictable because everyone pulls together.”
explained Bungie’s Senior Narrative Designer Nikko Stevens to us
This repetitive framework gives Bungie a baseline to follow. However, the unintended side effect is that the content often feels predictable as well.
However, Brian Frank, Design Lead at Bungie, also made it clear in this context that these “framework conditions” are not always bad. A good example is the current Season 23. Here, Bungie was able to use this kind of “survival strategy” that comes with the constant and relentless deadlines of a live service game to quickly create additional content.
“The moment we knew that the launch of ‘The Final Form’ would be delayed, we began adding additional content to the season,” Jonathan To revealed, adding that the team is excited for the players to see what they have been working on.
Destiny 2 still has many more stories to tell, even after the Final Form, leaving many possibilities for the future open.
What do you think about Bungie’s decision to say goodbye to the traditional season model and instead switch to episodic content? Do you think the transition will improve the quality of the player experience in Destiny 2? Let us know in the comments. Or would you prefer to know what leaks are currently circulating about the Final Form? Then take a look at this article: Destiny 2 is supposedly getting activity for 12 players: Will the bug become a feature?
