In Destiny 2, MMORPG expert Joe Blackburn is the new strong man who is supposed to lead Destiny into the future. He now says: “The best days of Destiny are yet to come.” The problem: Hardly anyone believes him at the moment.
Who is speaking?
- Blackburn worked at Zenimax for three years on the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, designing the big boss fights – including the epic battle against Molag Bal, at the end of the single-player campaign.
- In 2015, he joined Bungie, became a raid designer, and later the chief designer of the raids of Destiny. He succeeded Luke Smith, who had gradually been promoted to the top boss of the game series after the success of the 1st raid “The Vault of Glass.”.
- It all seemed to indicate that Blackburn would be the boss for PvE at Destiny.
- But in 2019 Blackburn switched to Riot Games and was gone for a while.
- However, Bungie brought him back in 2020 and promoted him to “The Assistant Game Director” for Destiny 2.
Joe Blackburn is now somewhat like “the new strong man” at Destiny. He is apparently supposed to follow in Luke Smith’s footsteps. This was made clear in Bungie’s latest major video documentation, where there was a passing of the torch. Luke Smith expressed how exciting it is to see new leaders stepping up for Destiny. Then Joe Blackburn was shown, proudly announcing: “The best days of Destiny lie ahead of us.”
And this sentence is what it’s all about now.
This is what Blackburn is saying now: Blackburn has now spoken up over Twitter and said:
“Last year I said that the best days of Destiny lie ahead of us. Looking at what’s coming, I believe that more than ever before.
But we have a lot of work to do to get there. 2021 will be something different for Destiny. We will need some time to solidify our plans, but expect a “State of Destiny 2021″ in the next season.”
What does this mean translated? It’s a mixed message from Destiny, as you may know it. Essentially, it probably means:
- Don’t expect too much in 2021, we need time.
- We will explain to you later what exactly we have planned for 2021 – within the next 3 months we will get back to you with more information.
- Overall, Destiny will be fine, trust us. I already know how it will proceed, and it will be good.
“Every Year the Same”
This is the reaction to it: At the moment, the mood at Destiny is very low. The PvP problems with Stasis, the removal of content and items due to sunsetting, and the grind-heavy content of the seasons are harsh issues that Guardians are upset about.
Therefore, many comments are negative. A vague promise for the future has already been heard many times at Destiny. Guardians can’t relate to that. One says: “You’ve been telling us the same thing for years, but Destiny is only good for two weeks after a new expansion.”
Others mention that Destiny is a great game, they had a lot of fun and met great people, but in year 7, it seems that Bungie makes the same mistakes each year.
Positively, the big streamer GladdX says:
“I remain hopeful, man. Things are not always the way we want them to be, but we have seen what you are capable of. Many of us miss the magical feeling that Destiny used to give us, and we want it back. May the light shine bright in the future! Show us what you’ve got.”
GladdX
The general tenor of most posts is, however: People, we love your game, but you’ve been telling us the same stuff for years and nothing changes.
What speaks against Blackburn’s statement is a confession from his boss, Luke Smith. He admitted in November 2020 that the possibilities at Bungie for Destiny are now limited without Activision Blizzard behind them:
The head of Destiny 2 says: “Unlikely that anything like Forsaken will ever come again.”
