In September 2024, the player numbers for Destiny 2 on Steam looked disastrous. With an average of 32,549 players, the online shooter had lost an astonishing 4 out of 5 players compared to June 2024. The expansion The Final Shape, which was released in June, received enthusiastic reviews and ratings. With the launch of the new episode Revenant, Bungie can soften the decline – but the new numbers are not great.
How bad were the player numbers for Destiny 2 in September?
In September, Destiny 2 averaged only 25,233 players on Steam, which was a further decline of 30% compared to the previous month.
From February 2024 to June 2024, Destiny 2 gained players for four consecutive months, reaching a peak of 123,023 players in June 2024, the highest since March 2023, but the subsequent drop was dramatic.
By September, 80% of the players who returned in June with The Final Shape (released on June 4) were gone again.
The downward trend can only be somewhat softened by the new episode Revenant (released on October 8, 2024): Current player numbers are around 50,000.
Expansion received 90%, but was seen as the endpoint for Destiny 2
What were the reasons for the substantial decline in players? The Final Shape was positively received as an expansion and received enthusiastic reviews with 89% on Metacritic (PC, Xbox – even 90% for PS5), but it also marked a clear endpoint for Destiny.
Many felt that the game reached its end with The Final Shape after 10 years, especially as rumors increased about a new game based on Destiny, Destiny Rising. Also, the extremely negative news about Bungie in recent months may have contributed to the feeling that Destiny was over.
The shift from fixed, annual expansions to the new episode model also sends a signal that Destiny has entered a new life phase and is no longer being actively developed as it was in previous years.
Moreover, it seems that “The Final Shape” did not succeed in binding players to the game in the long term.
What’s behind it: When you name a DLC “The Final Something” and clearly communicate throughout that it is a conclusion, you give players an overall feeling of: “It’s over now.”
This may have been part of Bungie’s plan when they still had numerous projects in the pipeline. Currently, however, they apparently continue to fully rely on Destiny as a franchise, especially since the new game “Marathon” is already facing a lot of criticism.
Perhaps they regret in Seattle how “The Final Shape” was communicated. If the DLC was supposed to provide a worthy conclusion to the saga of Light and Shadow, it may have succeeded in that. But in the eyes of many players, it also marked a clear end to the shooter. Convincing those who now think it continues will be difficult for Bungie: Destiny 2: 7 Exos you should use in Episode: Revenant
