Destiny 2 dev Bungie promises fans the series has a future after layoffs, 'Payback' cancellation report: "Rest assured we remain committed to Destiny"

What you need to know

• Nearly a week after Destiny 2 developer Bungie announced it cut 220 workers from the studio and is moving 155 staff to other roles within Sony, it has posted an official statement on social media to reassure fans about the future of Destiny.
• Bungie says it remains "committed to Destiny," and to "supporting our community with transparency, and to delivering regular updates about the game." It also notes it will discuss "the future of Destiny and plans for our next multi-year journey soon."
• The developer's statements also come days after a recent Bloomberg report suggested Bungie recently cancelled a Destiny spinoff called "Payback," and also that it's moving away from paid annual expansions and towards smaller and free content updates similar to April's Into the Light release.
• The report also notes that Bungie has not been working on a "Destiny 3" sequel to Destiny 2, and is instead focusing on making the live service looter shooter more approachable for new players.

Just over a week since Destiny 2 developer Bungie announced it laid off 220 employees and transitioned 155 workers to Sony Interactive Entertainment, the studio has posted an official update intended to reassure players it still has a plan for Destiny and its future. Concerns for the series have been growing since the cuts were made public, especially since there were already roughly 100 layoffs at Bungie last October.

"We know that recent changes at Bungie have created uncertainty surrounding the future of Destiny. Rest assured we remain committed to Destiny, to supporting our community with transparency, and to delivering regular updates about the game," wrote the developer on X (Twitter). "We'll be talking with you all about the future of Destiny and plans for our next multi-year journey soon. Once we plant a flag for the date, we'll let you all know. Thank you for your patience, and we'll see you again soon."

Notably, Bungie's statement comes several days after a report suggested Bungie cancelled a Destiny spinoff called "Payback," which was said to be a third-person title in which you would "explore a large world while cooperating to battle monsters and solve puzzles." The report also suggested the studio will no longer develop annual paid expansions, citing declining sales year-over-year — including with this year's critically acclaimed The Final Shape DLC.

What exactly is next for Destiny 2 isn't currently clear, though the aforementioned report does note that Bungie plans to make smaller and free content drops like the popular Into the Light update released two months before The Final Shape's launch. There are also "vague plans" for a fresh storyline with new characters and worlds, which is likely what the "Frontiers" Destiny 2 project revealed in June is.

It's also been said that Bungie is looking to improve the onboarding process for Destiny 2, which is notorious for being insufficient, lackluster, and confusing for players new to the live service science fantasy shooter. This is something the game's community has been vocal about for many, many years now, so many will be pleased to hear that Bungie is looking to address it seriously.

For a long time, many believed Bungie is also working on a Destiny 3, but a sequel of some sort has reportedly not been in development. Instead, the developer plans to focus its efforts on Destiny 2 and Marathon — a PvP extraction shooter set in the sci-fi universe of the studio's classic FPS franchise that debuted 30 years ago in 1994. Details about Marathon are extremely scarce at the moment, though we do know it's expected to release in 2025.

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Analysis: After recent events, it's hard to be hopeful

While it's good to see that Bungie is planning to open up about its plans for the future of Destiny and its "next multi-year journey" soon, to say that it's hard to be hopeful or feel reassured after what's happened recently is an understatement. Personally, I don't have any faith at all, especially since there have seemingly been no significant leadership changes despite former Bungie staff placing the blame squarely on executives on social media in the wake of the cuts. In particular, CEO Pete Parsons has come under intense scrutiny by affected workers and the wider community after it came to light that the chief executive officer spent millions on cars after Sony acquired Bungie in 2022.

Ultimately, only time will tell what the future holds for both Destiny and Bungie. At the moment, however, it's been devastating to see more layoffs disrupt the studio and its workers at a time when the number of layoffs in the gaming industry in 2024 have now exceeded 11,000. My heart — and the hearts of everyone at Windows Central — go out to everyone who has been affected.