After the release of Destiny 2, the former game director of the game, Luke Smith, has vanished from the scene. Fans are wondering what the former Destiny 2 head has been up to since then. In an interview with Mein MMO, Bungie has now shed some light on the matter.
What is Luke Smith actually doing? Some fans speculated that he had to take the blame for the poor development of Destiny 2. Others speculated that he was already working on Destiny 3.
In the Gamescom interview with Mein MMO, Bungie clarified the situation. The head of Mein MMO, Dawid Hallmann, spoke with communications director David “DeeJ” Dague and with Steve Cotton, the head of Destiny 2 Forsaken.
Luke Smith is still in a key position at Bungie
When asked where Luke Smith is now, Bungie surprisingly answered openly at Gamescom.
Smith still extremely important for the studio: Initially, they revealed that Luke Smith is still working at Bungie.
“Luke is still at Bungie. I text with him regularly, we work together. He helps us understand what we are going to do with Destiny in the next year and beyond,” said Forsaken head Steve Cotton.
Community manager DeeJ then emphasized the immense importance of Smith as well as his contributions to Destiny. What he has accomplished is invaluable.
“Luke is irreplaceable in shaping what Destiny is. He created the prototype for the Destiny raids and assembled the team that would create new raids.
Currently, Luke is in a leadership role at Bungie. He is a very valuable voice among the leadership of our studio.”
Destiny as a game that never ends
DeeJ continued: “Luke sees Destiny as a game that never ends. It’s a game that captivates you again and again – year after year, season after season. Luke is one of those guys from the Blizzard community who played Halo as a Bungie fan.
And now he ensures at Bungie that seasonal updates keep players engaged and that a consistent experience is provided from one game to the next, maintaining player interest and giving them the feeling of constantly evolving and that their achievements and accomplishments carry over from one game to the next.”
Sounds like Luke Smith is responsible for the franchise
What can be inferred from the answer? Apparently, Smith can still contribute to Destiny 2 – even if in a new role. DeeJ’s statements suggest that Smith is broadly responsible for the Destiny franchise and works beyond Destiny 2.
How this new position came about is unknown. It is also unclear what the formal title of the new role is.
On LinkedIn, Luke Smith is still listed as “Game Director.” He has not provided a description of his position on Twitter anymore.
The path of Luke Smith
Since Destiny 1, Luke Smith has been an important team member at Bungie and has held several key positions at the studio throughout his career. But why has he been unheard of?
Strong man behind Destiny: After his raid “The Glass Chamber” became a hit in Vanilla Destiny, Smith was promoted to “Creative Director” of the Taken King expansion of Destiny.
He then took on the role of Game Director for Destiny 2 and became the new strong man behind Destiny.
After the release of Destiny 2, however, Smith almost completely vanished from the scene. While he was the face of Destiny 2 along with Mark Noseworthy before and during the launch of Destiny 2, he has said very little since then.
Others have stepped into the limelight: Most news about Destiny 2 now comes from other developers at Bungie, such as Christopher Barrett – now Game Director for Destiny 2. The Forsaken expansion is led by Steve Cotton as Game Director.
How have you perceived the fate of Luke Smith so far? Did you expect that he still holds a leadership position in the company?
