In Destiny there have been content problems for more than 13 months. Are they coming to an end soon?
Until December 2015, the world of Destiny was fine. Fans always knew what to expect. In December 2015, “The Taken King” had just “concluded,” the last secrets were uncovered. The Guardians were in high spirits – Destiny was better than ever for many. And now, players wanted to know what would happen next.
Since December 2015, something has been wrong
Due to a leak, many already knew Bungie’s plans: Another 2 DLCs would come in 2016 and then Destiny 2 in the fall. Much more than these names was not known, but the plan was logical: Bungie wanted to apply the same pattern in year 2 that had just found a worthy conclusion with “The Taken King.” The mood was optimistic.
It was a bit strange at the time, however, that no season pass had been announced for year 2 yet. But there was an event from Sony in December and Bungie would announce it there, everyone thought back then.
But when Bungie announced “Sparrow Racing” at Sony and did not mention DLCs, one realized: Okay, something is wrong here. Something is not going right at Bungie.
Players wandered around for two more months more or less aimlessly and wondered: What happens next?
Today we know: By delaying Destiny 2, Bungie essentially gave up on 2016 and just tried to get through it. In September 2016, instead of Destiny 2, a somewhat hastily assembled expansion called “Rise of Iron” was released, surrounded by a spring update to “Prison of Elders” and more Sparrow Racing in December 2016 – which was announced again at the Sony event.
Official information on why everything went so strangely is scarce.
Drip-fed through anonymous sources, an explanation emerged: Destiny 2 has been “rebooted.” Most people at Bungie were working on it. Another team, the live team, was supposed to deliver – those were the events. “Rise of Iron” was more or less a stopgap solution. But they promised that everything would change.
But like a year ago, we stand here now and know nothing about the future. Like a year ago, Bungie says: Trust us, everything will be fine. We will talk about it when the time is right.
The situation is serious because delaying Destiny 2 has disrupted the entire annual cycle and we are actually facing the driest stretch in the Destiny year right now, but are just coming out of a long dry spell.
The Destiny Year
If we look at the Destiny year, we already see a significant gap in the concept. From the beginning, only “three” releases were planned – in the summer, there would always be a content gap of 4 or 5 months. In practice, however, in addition to this large “planned” gap, there are also two other, unplanned content holes that have opened up.
The highlight of a Destiny year is the fall:
2014 – Release
2015 – The Taken King
2016 – Rise of Iron
2017 – Still open, assumed “Destiny 2”
This marks the start of a “new year” with the main release. The one in 2016 with “Rise of Iron” was quite meager. Until now, the time from September to December was “always filled with game content.”
Winter in Destiny – a transitional time with content:
2014: Darkness Awaits
2015: Sparrow Racing
2016: The Dawning
Winter has always been the “refill” period, something to keep players entertained. However, this only really worked in year 1. Both 2015 and 2016 felt improvised. The event always came early in winter, already in December. So, the main release was never “really boring” until the next one came. In winter, there was usually a thin layer of content at the start which later became quite fragile. Currently, there is a thick content gap here.
Spring was the weakest content update of the year:
2015 – House of Wolves
2016 – Prison of Elders
2017 – Still open
In spring, there was a content update. However, it has always been the “lightest” and “weakest” of the year. It always came relatively late. Between the December and spring update, there were four or five months. Spring was always a “critical phase” where a content gap could easily arise – this was never really a good time for Destiny. Even House of Wolves lasted only relatively briefly in 2015.
Summer in Destiny – the lost season
2014 – Hype for Release
2015 – Hype for The Taken King
2016 – “Mini-Hype” for Rise of Iron
2017 – Still open, assumed “Hype for Destiny 2”
Summer in Destiny has never really had content. From April/May to September, almost nothing happens in Destiny, and one introduces the next big release with a lot of fanfare over a long period. Destiny remained in the news during the summer, but there was little happening in the game itself.
The removal of Destiny causes the entire content network to collapse
Looking at the year now, one sees that due to the removal of Destiny 2 in 2016, the entire timeline has been completely disrupted and does not work. In addition to the planned “dry spell” in the summer and the thin time in the spring, we are just coming out of a long period in the fall and winter without real content and are now facing the weak time.
The players would also have a long dry spell ahead of them with a “normal” schedule until something happened again in the fall. But they are already coming from a content drought because the fall and winter were so weak due to the delay of Destiny 2.
If Bungie sticks to its previous schedule, we are now looking at half a year or longer before anything significant happens. But can this really be Bungie’s plan—not only to give up on 2016 but also to disappoint fans in the first half of 2017?
Spoiler: We think not.
Why is Bungie canceling the event now?
At Bungie, they also seem to know this and have now announced that they will deviate from the normal schedule. The Crimson Event has been canceled. It was a little treat in the spring last year to have something in between “Sparrow Racing” in the winter and “Prison of Elders” in the spring.
But canceling the event fits Bungie at all. Currently, the content drought is so evident that it would actually be completely foolish to postpone the event if they wanted to stay with the “old schedule.” A “weak update” in spring, followed by hype in summer and Destiny 2 in the fall.
The “best case” for spring – Destiny 2
The cancellation could mean that a significant release is indeed planned for spring. As dull and bleak as the situation in Destiny currently is for players – the question of what the plans for Destiny 2 look like is exciting.
We know that Bungie has been working on Destiny 2 for years.
We know that the game was originally supposed to release in fall 2016 but was then rebooted.
Additionally, two more studios are supposed to be working on Destiny 2 – one of which has also been working for years.
And we know that since September 2015, there hasn’t been any truly substantial new content in Destiny.
Spring 2017 is also still “open” in the industry. Unlike spring 2016, there are no major competitors announced like The Division.
Something must have been done by all these well-paid people in recent years. Maybe we will actually see a spring surprise… Otherwise, the future for the Destiny franchise really does not look good.
The “worst case” for spring: Year 1 – Reloaded
It is hard to believe that Bungie, after the “not-release” of Rise of Iron and while they have been working hard on Destiny 2, could pull together anything “proper” for spring 2017, that is, really new content.
In 2016, Bungie resorted to tricks: They rehashed old content – old instances were given new enemies and mechanics.
There is still one point that Bungie has already considered as an option and that is still missing.
Bungie might dive back into the recycle bin and bring back the old raids: Atheon and Crota, perhaps even Oryx. They would give it a “Destiny style” new coat of paint with new bosses, increase the light level again, and give players something to do. This nostalgia plan worked quite well with Rise of Iron. Maybe it will suffice again?
Basically, there are three possibilities:
They will do another “free content update” in spring 2017 like the one with the Prison of Elders in 2016. Bungie lets the live team recycle something. Favorites here are “the old raids.” Then perhaps changes to weapon balance, a few new exotics and armor, the light level goes up again, and you kind of make it through to fall 2017. That would be quite thin.
The middle ground would be an expansion like “Rise of Iron” with relatively modest scope – practically what the “B-team not working on Destiny 2” can put together in a relatively short time. For that, Bungie would probably charge money again, but also offer more than in a free update.
Or they might actually release Destiny 2 already.
In the coming weeks, it should be decided which of the three paths Destiny will take in year 2. Will something significant be announced for spring? Or will they really make us wait until September 2017 and bridge the time with nostalgia and sleight of hand?
The MMO shooter Destiny combines the action-packed gameplay of a top shooter with the long-term enjoyment and character development of a classic MMO since 2014 ...
