In the forums and social media, there is a lively debate about whether Anthem will ultimately be the nail in the coffin for Destiny 2. Our author Robert explains why this is absurd.
What is it about? Increasingly, comments have appeared recently predicting that the release of BioWare’s shooter Anthem will spell an inevitable end for Destiny 2.
That sounds familiar.
Back in 2016, many players proclaimed that The Division would be the end for Destiny.
In 2019, it is said that Anthem and The Division 2 will deliver the final blow to Destiny. Really? As in the past, I have serious doubts about this theory.
How is Destiny 2 doing currently? According to destinytracker.com, there are currently 1.1 million players engaging in PvE activities, while still 900,000 Guardians compete daily in the Crucible.
This is far from the peak numbers achieved during the release of a major expansion, but it’s still respectable.
Many players believe that these Guardians will completely switch to Anthem in February—permanently. Sounds strange? It is. It starts with the definition of “Destiny killer”.
What does “dead” mean for online games?
When is Destiny 2 truly dead? Destiny 2 would only be truly dead if the publisher Bungie announced that due to the low player population, all work on Destiny 2 would cease. Future DLCs would not be completed. Moreover, the servers would be shut down to save costs.
This (fictional) announcement should be triggered solely due to a new game? Certainly not.
This would mean that
- the vast majority of Destiny 2 players suddenly only play Anthem permanently
- no new players start with Destiny 2 anymore, but go directly to Anthem
This means nothing less than that the player base would have to completely collapse. After all, the servers for the predecessor Destiny 1 are still running, and Bungie has not yet announced a date for shutting down those servers.
In any case, the past has shown that Destiny is not so easily killed. The future will prove this as well.
In the short term, the release of Anthem may impact the population in Destiny 2, but the “hardcore” core, meaning the hardcore Destiny players, will continue to stay loyal to “their” game.
However, there are many more reasons why the future of Destiny 2 will not depend on Anthem.
Anthem is missing an important mode at launch
This is why competitive multiplayer mode is so important: Once all activities against AI-controlled opponents are completed and the last weapon has been farmed, a game primarily thrives on a competitive multiplayer mode.
When properly implemented, multiplayer matches always feel fresh and greatly enhance the replayability of a title. Moreover, the search for a weapon with the perfect roll for the Crucible in Destiny 2 is considered a crucial activity for Guardians.
This is completely obsolete in Anthem (at least at launch). Whether and in what form Anthem will have a competitive multiplayer mode is still uncertain. However, it is anything but excluded that many Anthem players will return to Destiny 2 after overcoming the PvE content long before Anthem has something similar in place.
Anthem will launch with significantly less content than Destiny 2
This speaks for Destiny 2: When Anthem is released, Destiny 2 will already be 17 months old. In the meantime, two smaller DLCs and one major expansion have been released, and the first content from the annual pass will also be available by then.
While the exact scope of Anthem cannot yet be quantified, there will likely be significantly less to do than in Destiny 2. The intriguing question will be whether BioWare will manage to deliver new content quickly after launch or create incentives to replay the same content over and over.
Do we even know enough about Anthem? No one can currently say that the longevity of Anthem will outlast Destiny 2, as there is simply too little known about Anthem—especially regarding endgame.
Many Destiny players have spent thousands of hours in Bungie’s work; Anthem will first need to overcome that hurdle.
Conclusion – Only one can kill Destiny 2: Destiny 2
Can Destiny 2 even be killed? Whether and how that is possible, we do not know, of course. However, it can be said with a fair degree of certainty that it will not be Anthem. Too many factors suggest that Anthem will not surpass Destiny in terms of longevity.
Substantial influence on the future of the Destiny franchise can and will come from Bungie, no more and no less. It is known that Destiny 2 has some fundamental issues. Bungie’s decisions in the near future will be crucial in determining whether Guardians will turn their backs on Destiny 2—and not Anthem.
What do you think? Will Anthem retain a large portion of Destiny players in the long run?
