The online shooter Destiny 2 received a reprimand during Activision’s latest earnings call. They are disappointed with how Destiny 2 is performing. Game Director Luke Smith speaks out, stating he is not disappointed. At Bungie, they love Forsaken.
What Luke Smith says: In a tweet, the Game Director of Destiny states:
“We are not disappointed with Forsaken. We set out to create a game that Destiny players would love. And we at Bungie love it too.
Our goal remains to build a Destiny for our players who love it as we move forward.”
A player then supports Smith, saying Forsaken is excellent. It’s fun to raid again and joke around with friends.
Smith replied: My friends and I feel the same way. It’s good to be home again.
Activision praises Forsaken but criticizes results
Here’s the backstory: During an earnings call, the publisher of Destiny 2, Activision-Blizzard, described the results as “not as good as we would like”. International media reported that Activision is “not happy” with Destiny 2.
Although exact numbers were not mentioned, Activision representative Cody Johnson explicitly highlighted Destiny as one of the franchises that are not performing as hoped. This is rare in a financial report.
Cody further stated: Forsaken has not fully brought players back. Many are still in “wait and see” mode.
As a reason, Activision sees the entry barrier for Destiny 2 as high, as players must own the base game first. However, Activision also considers Forsaken to be the highest quality content that Destiny has ever produced.
Activision hopes to bring players back by releasing new content more quickly. They apparently also want to adjust monetization.
Fans think: Destiny 3 will now be full RPG
What does this say about the future of Destiny 2? On Reddit, some interpreted Luke Smith’s statement as Bungie no longer making “casual Destiny” like Destiny 2, but rather continuing the path that Forsaken took.
There were rumors regarding Destiny 3, suggesting that Bungie might tailor the game even more towards “core gamers” and emphasize RPG elements. These rumors are seen as confirmed by Smith’s statement that they want to continue on the path they’ve taken.
It seems to some fans like a conflict of direction:
- Activision wants to keep the game “casual” and appeal to as many people as possible
- Bungie wants to make it for the “core gamers” and incorporate many RPG elements
Who is Luke Smith? Smith was responsible for the raid “The Vault of Glass”, the expansion “Destiny: The Taken King”, and for the base game of Destiny 2.
Currently, he is in an important role as one of the Game Directors of Destiny and evidently oversees the overall trajectory of the franchise.
The great Luke Smith puzzle
This is what it’s about: It’s one of the great mysteries of Destiny how Luke Smith can be the chief creative behind both “The Taken King” and “Vanilla Destiny 2”. Both games show a completely different approach:
- The Taken King pushed Destiny 1 towards “core game” and “MMO” – Bungie calls that “hobby”
- “Destiny 2” removed almost all of these elements and toned them down
When the Game Director now says about “Forsaken” that he feels at home again, it is surprising because his name was associated with Destiny 2, where he apparently did not feel at home.
Smith previously expressed subtle criticism of his own game in a podcast after the launch of Destiny 2, but he has never directly commented on it.
