Alright, so now that we can confirm Bungie leadership was indeed involved in every step of deciding to end Destiny, Iâve got some unfiltered thoughts.
-The content vault was the sole destroyer of all positive momentum and sentiment for the game when players now had to spend money on new expansions every year or two with an inherent fear that content would be vaulted anyways. âPay for accessâ is the death of player investment and the DCV highlighted itself as the most destructive decision ever made in any game to-date.
-Destiny 3 shouldâve been green-lit immediately after the Witch Queen, Lightfall, and Final Shape reveals in 2020 and 2021. It wouldâve been the perfect lead-in for concluding Destiny 2. They knew the saga was concluding with Final Shape and the game was becoming too bloated. Had they decided to do so, they couldâve announced Destiny 3âs release at this very moment 5-6yrs later. It also wouldâve been the perfect bargaining chip to PlayStation for the acquisition by showing longevity of an established and secure IP with a clear title release forthcoming.
-I can guarantee a very large base of players will decide to avoid this ânew journeyâ in Bungie if it isnât Destiny 3. This demographic of players over the last 10yrs are Destiny fans who spent the last decade exclusively in Destiny - even bringing their kids to enjoy. For sure, youâll have many who will try whatever comes next, but if it isnât Destiny, youâre going to have a very large gap.
-Marathonâs âstrong foundationâ is grossly over-exaggerated. Donât get me wrong, itâs a very good game that plays unbelievably well and perfectly emanates the identity of Bungie, but its retention concerns are so evident that to deny its existence is damaging. An extremely large portion of marathon players migrated from Destiny and are the core audience to consider here. To Shut down their original game with no plan in sight while saying âwe have this insteadâ will not produce positive results. If marathon wants to succeed beyond its extraction mode, it needs a world built like Destiny, told like Destiny, and world-shaped from the marathon lore thatâs been build since the 1990âs.
-If Destiny 3 is not in development and they have no plans to continue the franchise, sell the rights to another reputable studio who believes in the IP and will keep it alive. Destiny is arguably the best looter shooter that defined a literal genre and to abandon development of one of the biggest established IPâs in history is a terrible business decision.
-All of this stems from terrible decision making from the top-down. The game went from creating one of the greatest gaming worlds and stories ever made over the last decade to dollar signs and spreadsheets first. Game success comes from building a full experience that players cannot help but be immersed in.
Blaming âindustry shiftsâ for a game struggling is code for âwe arenât getting it right on our end because weâre making the wrong decisions at the wrong time.â
The players havenât changed; the reason for developing a game did.
Iâm angry. Iâm frustrated. Iâm sad. Iâm hurt. Iâm lost. Destiny was home for over 10yrs.
Iâll see yâall in the tower.
>going to see the odyssey
>order popcorn
>worker asks if I want a themed bucket
>I ask her if itâs Odyssey or Iliad
>she doesnât understand
> I pull out a chart explaining what is Odyssey and what is Iliad
>she laughs, âitâs a good bucket sirâ
>get themed bucket
>itâs Iliad
People who never read the books don't know how close they were. Marcus was neglected. In school Marcus had no one and the Santiago boys stepped in to help. He was invited into the Santiago home and given a place at the table. Carlos & Dom were brothers in everything except blood.