Whoever has been exploring Destiny 2 in recent months knows that Bungie is currently wrapping up its grand saga of Light and Darkness. But what comes after the dramatic showdown? This week, Luke Smith, Bungie’s “mastermind,” has commented on this. MeinMMO brings you up to date on what Bungie is planning.
Destiny 2 has become a live service game with a series character and not only provides its guardians with regular content but also with a seasonal weekly narrative.
Players return week after week to the universe of the loot shooter to find out how the ongoing story continues and to empower their guardian for the final battle. A core concept that Bungie plans to further develop for its IPs in the future.
- The upcoming expansion “Lightfall,” which is expected to start in early 2023, will once again advance players in this story narrative in a serial format.
- And in the last officially announced expansion “The Final Shape,” which is planned for early 2024, Bungie announced that the saga of Light and Darkness will come to “a dramatic conclusion.”
But what happens after “…and beyond”?
Is Destiny 2 officially coming to an end after “Final Shape”?
Even though Luke Smith did not directly address what comes next, Bungie’s “mastermind” and Executive Creative Director hinted at a future for the Destiny cosmos in a Game Maker’s Notebook podcast with Ted Price of Insomniac Games.
Luke Smith understands the issues of the guardians: In the podcast, it became clear that the Executive Creative Director is aware of the things that mar the experience of players in the current version of Destiny 2.
He knows, “that currently every player who plays the game feels that what they love could be better.” He especially talked about the current and future player experiences of new players who join through New Light, the Destiny 2 Free2Play version, and the gaming experience of veterans.
- Although the content vault is practical for a massive live service game like Destiny 2 for Bungie as a developer, it is hated by many players because the system regularly swallows beloved locations and seasonal activities.
- Furthermore, the story of Destiny 2 is so complex that new players who join via New Light cannot follow at all. They are thrown into the story midway and only gradually understand the universe, which frustrates them.
Especially on reddit and in the community, this “content understanding problem” is pervasive. Far too many new players feel in the current Destiny 2 regarding the story that “they arrive too late to the party,” describes Luke Smith this issue.
Thus, they have actively sought contact and feedback from their player community for years, which is indeed not always easy, but also look for solutions for upcoming content.
When we look at the two projects [Destiny 1 and Destiny 2] together, we are in the eighth year [and] a lot has happened in the last eight years. You can’t play everything. So how can we help people [in the future] catch up?
Luke Smith, Executive Creative Director at Bungie
He absolutely appreciates the work of player veterans and YouTubers who currently provide regular summaries of the previous stories for Destiny 2 newcomers, but also states regarding the future, “we shouldn’t expect this from our players!”
This is how Bungie wants to “get the engines running” again: Player support within DLCs and the game is something Bungie hasn’t done in the past at all and has only recently started to focus on more.
Therefore, the developer wants to take new paths after “The Final Shape” so that more players can grasp and understand future game worlds more easily.
I think when we look at this narrative arc that we call the “end of the light versus dark saga,” we will, so to speak, get the engines running again and welcome the [players] back. […] we will still have to figure out how we can pave the way for the [players] who return to the universe, and what Bungie can contribute to that.
Luke Smith explained in the podcast
In Destiny 2, Bungie will continue to build upon its special way of telling captivating, profound, and also epic stories in the upcoming seasons and next expansions.
The current Season 17 offers more story content than ever, revolving around “a meaningful experience.” This development had been announced by the Project Lead for “Lightfall,” Blake Battle, at the launch of Witch Queen in early 2022. He has also confirmed that the Lightfall expansion will include a legendary campaign.
- The new DLC “Lightfall” will thus offer players the choice between the classic campaign for casual players and the legendary campaign for veterans.
- Moreover, one can strongly assume that Bungie will maintain the story direction it has taken as a “weekly serial format.”
Destiny 2 is likely to evolve as a universe within “Destiny”
Luke Smith’s current personal work at Bungie has little to do directly with Destiny 2, as he revealed. There is a different leadership team planning the future of the space shooter.
He and his longtime production partner Mark Noseworthy are currently responsible for expanding the “Destiny” brand. Their mission for the future is therefore to “think about making Destiny a universe that […] persists and continues beyond a single MMO project.”
There will likely never be a Destiny 3: As Luke Smith explains, they have now “reached a point where a number of people have come to Destiny 2, to Bungie, to work on Destiny in the future.” This brings fresh ideas to the company.
He also addresses in the podcast what has become more evident since the introduction of the content vault:
I think Destiny 2 is Destiny. The design of Destiny 1 and 2.
Bungie believes in the concept of live service games, which Joe Blackburn, the current Game Director, is also pursuing resolutely. Thus, the content of Destiny 1 and 2 is slowly coming together.
Captivating TV stories like those of the “Star Wars” universe or “The Witcher” should similarly unfold the story of Destiny 2 in the future as Bungie seeks to establish its new gaming vision. However, what exactly is planned here, whether new IP or an altered Destiny universe, remains open.
On YouTube, you can watch the full interview between Luke Smith and Ted Price from Insomniac Games.
At the end of the interview, Luke Smith also shared a personal vision for the future:
Sometimes resources are worth it. And sometimes you look back and think: “We couldn’t support this as well as we wanted to,” like with bringing back popular modes from Destiny 1. […] We get up and just keep going, we come back and we keep going. We will continue to try to learn and improve. I think it will be a highly competitive environment.
One will utilize a lot of opportunities for projects that people may enjoy. But Luke Smith is also sure that some people will be unhappy when projects or single-player games that were not live service games become so in the future.
I’m not saying that no one should hear this and say: “Luke said: Every single, you know, single-player game will become a service game. That’s not what I mean at all. What I’m saying is that there are many ways to create experiences that fans and potential fans will love. And I’m not afraid of a world where there are more service games. If anything, it’s going to be a challenge for them all to do better and find a better way. And in a way, where this entity may still have one.
he elaborates his “Luke Smith vision”
What do you think about Bungie’s plans for the future and the upcoming improvement of the New Light Free2Play player experience? Do you believe a reboot of the brand and the universe “Destiny” is possible? Or will you turn your back on the universe for good after the end of the light and darkness saga? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
