Is Destiny off schedule?
Perhaps the silence from Destiny at the moment is not a sign of a shift in direction but a signal that there are time problems and that progress is not as quick as planned (and as stipulated by the contract with Activision).
Behind the scenes, Bungie has transitioned from a “development studio” to a “live studio,” reallocating employees and assembling teams.
It could be that due to this restructuring, the Year 2 DLCs are not progressing as quickly as originally planned – or they were dissatisfied with the Year 1 DLCs and now want to raise internal standards.
The pace in Year 1 was brutal with the release of the game, the fixes, and the work done on it. The time leading up to a release strains a studio to the breaking point. Normally, developers go on vacation after the stressful phase before a release, take a break, and then begin the next project at a lower stress level.
Destiny already had an extremely exhausting phase before launch. Reports have stated that last year they completely revamped everything and started anew. After a stressful release, they experienced a severe launch phase, during which it became clear how challenging an MMO is for all involved.
After that, they additionally worked on 2 DLCs and the major expansion “The Taken King.” This likely came at the expense of quality and scope: the two DLCs were universally regarded as “too thin,” only with “The Taken King” could they impress.
In year 2, although the stress of the launch would be absent, it seems clear that they are working with increased intensity on Destiny 2. And players expect even more than an expansion from that. Despite the help of High Moon Studios, it is possible that they say: We don’t want to have this type of stress with DLCs on fixed deadlines that need to be marketed and create so many expectations for players. We want to do patches, and if something isn’t ready in February, it will come in March. So be it.
However, there is also another possibility: If there are issues in production, they would have to a) reassign staff from the DLCs and b) shift the overall schedule back. In a game that has just been released, players catch wind of these delays through the press. For instance, Destiny competitor The Division has been delayed multiple times by Ubisoft.
In a live game, they experience on their own how long nothing is happening.
At the moment, we see three possible solutions as to why so little is known about the future of Destiny:
- Either they have really changed their strategy and moved away from DLCs, perhaps preferring to focus on the “big expansion” Destiny 2 and are bringing smaller updates with the patches in the meantime
- Or they still have a tight and full schedule with regular releases, but it has been disrupted by internal issues
- Solution 3 would be: Everything is fine, that was the plan all along…
In the coming months, better in weeks, Bungie should send a signal regarding how Destiny will continue. Because even though Guardians are tough bastards, they would appreciate having a roadmap for the future. Who would have thought that one would eagerly await the announcement of a Season Pass.
