Wesley Yin-Poole
Guest
Destiny 2 is set for what developer Bungie has called “major changes” as it works to win back players amid troubling times at the studio.
The live service first-person shooter, currently seeing its lowest concurrent player count ever on PC platform Steam, will adopt a new model moving forward that includes the release of two medium-sized expansions and four major free content updates annually, Bungie said.
“This evolution aims to enhance the player experience through a new multi-year saga, introducing a non-linear story, more systemic innovation, and significant improvements to core game activities and rewards,” Bungie said.
This new expansion model kicks off with Codename Apollo, a nonlinear character-driven adventure due out in the summer of 2025. The winter 2025 expansion is Codename Behemoth, with the fourth major update of the 12-month period following the release of Codename Apollo due out spring 2026. Each expansion includes new stories, locations, missions, weapons, gear, raids, and dungeons.
The news arrives following a period of speculation and unrest within the Destiny community about the franchise's future at Bungie. Uncertainty grew when the Sony-owned studio announced it would cut 220 staff in late July, with an additional 155 workers planned to move from Bungie into Sony Interactive Entertainment in the coming months. That left the developer with around 850 employees.
“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” controversial studio head Pete Parsons said in a statement. “But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”
Bloomberg then reported that Bungie would move away from large expansions and instead focus on smaller, potentially free updates for Destiny 2. Bungie reportedly has no plans for Destiny 3 and has canceled a Destiny spinoff project known as Payback. Development on its Marathon revival is said to still be ongoing.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
The live service first-person shooter, currently seeing its lowest concurrent player count ever on PC platform Steam, will adopt a new model moving forward that includes the release of two medium-sized expansions and four major free content updates annually, Bungie said.
“This evolution aims to enhance the player experience through a new multi-year saga, introducing a non-linear story, more systemic innovation, and significant improvements to core game activities and rewards,” Bungie said.
This new expansion model kicks off with Codename Apollo, a nonlinear character-driven adventure due out in the summer of 2025. The winter 2025 expansion is Codename Behemoth, with the fourth major update of the 12-month period following the release of Codename Apollo due out spring 2026. Each expansion includes new stories, locations, missions, weapons, gear, raids, and dungeons.
The news arrives following a period of speculation and unrest within the Destiny community about the franchise's future at Bungie. Uncertainty grew when the Sony-owned studio announced it would cut 220 staff in late July, with an additional 155 workers planned to move from Bungie into Sony Interactive Entertainment in the coming months. That left the developer with around 850 employees.
“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” controversial studio head Pete Parsons said in a statement. “But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”
Bloomberg then reported that Bungie would move away from large expansions and instead focus on smaller, potentially free updates for Destiny 2. Bungie reportedly has no plans for Destiny 3 and has canceled a Destiny spinoff project known as Payback. Development on its Marathon revival is said to still be ongoing.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].