It has been ten years since Bungie released its saga Destiny, and to celebrate, there has been a monumental change in its annual release model: in 2025, Destiny 2 will have expansions every six months and free updates every three. The MMO has no choice but to diversify and make playing it easier. And for Bungie, that means two words: Metroidvania and roguelike.
Being honest, if you start playing Destiny right now, it’s most likely that you don’t even know how to start playing or what your objective is. And Bungie has realized this, as stated by its director, Tyson Green: “Destiny is too complex. With literally hundreds of activities, you practically need a PhD to decide what to play and how to get the rewards you’re looking for.”
And for that, Destiny 2 has become much simpler thanks to the user activity menu, which “will make it easier for everyone to find and start them.” In other words: after a long time listening to people saying that it’s a great game that no one knows how to start playing, Bungie has taken matters into their own hands and made it slightly easier, but just as deep.
“The goal is to reduce the ‘tasks’ you have to do before entering an activity,” says Green. Just listening to him, you realize that they have been working for years on how to improve the user experience through a menu that is now finally simple and intuitive to use, but still needs months of refinement. The important thing is not to be stubborn… even if it’s a decade late!
The price of this collaboration has not been revealed yet, but its release date has been announced. It will begin on March 19, three days before the theatrical premiere.
Believe it or not, Sony has decided that it’s a good idea to mix two completely different and unrelated universes. One is Destiny 2, one of the most successful service games of the last decade, and the other is Ghostbusters.
Anyone who gets the set or the individual pieces will also be able to get the “Slimer Ghost Shell Paper Mask from Bungie Rewards” for free. Although there are no photos of this.
It is worth noting the absence of any new armor, which is usually the centerpiece of these crossovers. It’s a bit disappointing, because after years of donning increasingly complex high-tech armors, it would have been fun to zip up a simple jumpsuit.
Perhaps it is not thematically appropriate, but frankly I think that ship has already sailed. There is also no kind of ghostly shader, which could have been tempting, especially since players have been asking for one from Taken forever.
The price of this collaboration has not been revealed yet, but its release date has. It will start on March 19, three days before the premiere of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in theaters.
This also explains why this crossover happens: Sony distributes the movie and Sony owns Bungie.
The contract included a clause that made it very clear that if the studio did not meet its financial goals, Sony could take control, fire all the leaders and make it their own. And you will never guess what happened.
3600 million dollars. That’s the amount Sony paid in 2022 to acquire Bungie, once the flagship of Microsoft with ‘Halo.’ But by now, we should know that signing in blood and in front of the devil doesn’t usually bring anything good. The contract included a clause that made it very clear: if the studio didn’t meet financial targets, Sony could take control, dismiss all the leaders, and make it theirs. And you’ll never guess what happened.
Initially, everything looked good: Bungie would remain an independent studio, and Sony had nothing to say about it. But of course, in 2023, they fell far from their goal. How much? By 45%. Neither the ‘Lightfall’ expansion nor the number of ‘Destiny 2‘ players are enough to keep the studio afloat.
For now, the 1100-person studio has managed to stay afloat by cutting staff (and thus, turning a profit), but all eyes are on June 2024 when ‘The Final Shape,’ the next expansion for ‘Destiny 2,’ will be released. It could either revive the game’s interest to its 2017 launch levels or condemn not just the title but also the studio.
Bungie isn’t devoid of other prospects: ‘Marathon,’ their highly anticipated shooter, is set to release in 2025 (at least for now). The only uncertainty surrounding it is whether their issues stem from decisions made long ago within the studio that have led to serious internal problems or if, on the other hand, they’ve been due to Sony‘s expectations in setting the year’s objectives. Either way, it doesn’t seem like Bungie is eager to jump for joy right now, and the festive season might not be so festive for them.
As we reported at the end of October, Bungie laid off nearly 8% of its employees, affecting roles in community management, engineering, social media, quality control, and others. Now, the Halo developer is taking its time to get things right with The Final Shape after realizing it has lost the trust of its players.
The Final Shape is an ambitious expansion intended to conclude Destiny’s saga of light and darkness. Bungie has revealed very little about the expansion so far, teasing that Destiny 2 players will enter “the Traveler,” a mysterious entity in the Destiny universe that remains stationary in the sky as a source of light for Destiny players. The Final Shape will include the Pale Heart, Destiny’s first linear destination.
“The Final Shape is the culmination of the first ten years of Destiny storytelling and, for Guardians worldwide, countless hours spent together,” wrote the development team in a blog post. “We want to honor that journey, so we’re taking the time we need to deliver an even grander and bolder vision, one that we hope will be remembered and cherished for years.”
The team mentioned that the Season of Wishes, launching today, will last until the release of The Final Shape: “While most of the content and narrative of the Season of Wishes will unfold from late November to February as originally planned, the team is adding new content available to all players until The Final Shape launches.”
In April, Bungie will release a new content update called Into the Light, which “will prepare players for their Guardians’ journey toward the Traveler.” Bungie plans to share new gameplay from The Final Shape expansion in April.
Destiny 2’s Season of Desire (not the latest, The Final Shape) will introduce a set of gear inspired by Geralt; players will be able to unlock it all once the next season begins on November 28.
We also know that this collaboration with The Witcher will provide players with “armor ornaments, a Ghost shell, a ship, a Sparrow, an emote, and a finisher,” according to a tweet from Destiny Bulletin.
It seems that this collaboration will be one to remember. You can see each starting class with equipment inspired by Geralt of Rivia. The Titan class has the famous armor of the iconic character, while the Hunter and the Warlock have cloaks and armor that seem to come straight out of The Witcher series.
This fantastic collaboration isn’t the first time Destiny 2 players have enjoyed incredible cosmetics. Earlier this year, players received tons of crossover content in Destiny 2, including items and equipment inspired by PlayStation titles like Horizon Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima.
The Season of Wishes also marks an important occasion for Destiny 2, as it’s the last season before the upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, is unveiled in February 2024. This expansion will conclude the Saga of Light and Darkness, a narrative that began in 2017 with the release of Destiny 2.
Bungie faces a significant issue after laying off hundreds of employees in the last month, impacting their image among players and fans. They don’t trust the company and believe they’ve acted poorly. This isn’t something that’s easily recovered from overnight.
Bungie has carried out a workforce reduction that affects an unknown number of people and decides to delay two of its upcoming titles.
Yesterday was a dark day in the video game industry. Bungie, the creator of famous game franchises such as Halo and Destiny, has decided to lay off part of its staff. In addition to the layoffs, the company has also delayed the releases of two of its upcoming titles: Marathon and The Final Shape, the fourth and final expansion of Destiny 2.
According to Jason Schreier, a journalist from Bloomberg, there is still no official number of layoffs at the company, which coincides with other staff cuts at Sony. The parent company of the PlayStation brand acquired Bungie last year for a whopping 3.6 billion dollars.
Some Bungie employees have already confirmed their layoffs on social media: “I have been laid off from Bungie,” expressed Griffin Bennett, who worked as the Global Social Media Lead at the company until yesterday.
“It’s surreal to write this as I sit here reflecting on what went wrong. I’m still processing everything, and although my initial instinct is anger, I know I would regret what I would say. Thanks to everyone at Bungie who contributed to making my last 5 years the best of my life,” Bennett continued.
Paul Tassi, a journalist from Forbes, stated on his Twitter that it was Bungie itself who decided to carry out the layoffs, not Sony, citing a close source. Tassi also explained that by laying off the workers on October 30th, the company’s health insurance will only cover them until today, October 31st.
“Today is a sad day at Bungie, as we say goodbye to colleagues who have had a significant impact on our studio,” wrotePete Parsons, CEO of Bungie, on his Twitter account.
These layoffs add to the many that the technology industry has been experiencing since the pandemic. Just this year, more than a thousand people have been laid off in the video game sector, including companies like Niantic (Pokémon Go), Epic Games (Fortnite), Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077).
In Destiny 2, a game already packed with thrilling adventures, a recent crafting glitch has set the community abuzz. This glitch, which allows players to craft weapons with unprecedented combinations of perks and frames, has brought about a wave of chaos and exhilaration. It has transformed ordinary weapons into extraordinary powerhouses, leading to a surge in the usage of the Ammit AR-2, a weapon that now fires like a shotgun on steroids.
The Destiny 2 glitch is still up, and people are abusing it
The glitch in question allows players to meld perks and frames in never-intended ways. Imagine attaching perks typically reserved for exotic weapons onto legendary ones or fusing two legendary weapons into one, creating hybrid monstrosities like the Ammit auto rifle with an aggressive shotgun frame that can unleash a torrent of ten thousand rounds per minute.
This unexpected turn of events had the Destiny 2 community in a frenzy. Trials of Osiris, known for its competitive PvP action, has turned into a wild, unpredictable battleground where players wield weapons with outlandish combinations of perks. Endgame activities, once formidable challenges, are being effortlessly conquered by guardians armed with these modded weapons, making boss encounters a mere formality.
Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, acknowledged the glitch but decided not to impose restrictions or bans on players who utilized it. This leniency effectively gave guardians carte blanche to revel in the mayhem. Players across the Destiny 2 universe have been experimenting with these super-powered weapons, turning the game into a thrilling carnival of chaos.
While most players are relishing the newfound power, a vocal segment of the player base is concerned about how these weapons might diminish the sense of achievement associated with completing some of the game’s toughest challenges. Whether it’s conquering dungeons solo without dying or mastering Grandmaster Nightfalls, the glitch dilutes these accomplishments’ thrill.
How to do the Ammit AR-2 glitch
The Ammit AR-2 glitch, a hot topic among Destiny 2 players, has ignited curiosity within the community. Guardians are eager to take advantage of this bug, and since Bungie has not yet disabled it, players can try it themselves. While the glitch is feasible on both PC and consoles, it’s notably easier to execute on PC. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to perform the Ammit AR-2 glitch:
Adjust Your Frame Rate (PC):
Start by visiting the video settings on your PC.
Cap the frame rate at 30 fps. This step is crucial for executing the glitch effectively.
Access the Reshape Weapons Option:
Navigate to the Reshape Weapons option in the game.
You will require two types of weapons for this process:
A “blank” weapon, onto which you’ll imprint the desired perks.
The weapons you wish to extract perks or frames from, preferably already leveled.
Execute the Glitch:
The key to this glitch lies in the timing of your clicks.
Begin by selecting one weapon from which you want to transfer perks or frames.
Immediately start spam clicking on the second weapon you intend to merge with the first.
Continue spam clicking until the screen redirects you back to the first weapon.
In some cases, you can perform this side-by-side.
Alternatively, you may need to position your cursor and maintain a steady barrage of clicks on the second weapon as you switch between pages.
With these steps, you can harness the power of the Ammit AR-2 glitch and craft a weapon of incredible potency. While the glitch adds an exhilarating twist to Destiny 2, remember that Bungie may address it in the future. So, if you wish to experiment with these overpowered creations, seize the moment and enjoy the wild ride while it lasts.
The people of The Verge have spoken with the director of the game to ask him about the future of the company. And it looks very good after the purchase of Sony.
We’ve all played Destiny. And when I say everyone, I mean all good gamers. A game that was considered the most expensive cultural work in history at the beginning of the last decade has managed to remain relevant after almost 10 years.
After announcing The Final Form, the latest expansion that we have been able to see at Gamescom 2023, the game’s developer studio, Bungie, has talked to several media about the future of the IP. Something very interesting after being bought by Sony.
Specifically, it is the folks at The Verge who have extracted some very interesting words from Joe Blackburn, current game director and head of Bungie to talk about Destiny.
An arc that is not very popular
Destiny 2: Lightfall was something unusual for Bungie. The studio presented Lightfall as the beginning of the greatest battle between light and darkness we’ve ever seen. “The battle begins here and now,” said Commander Zavala in an epic launch trailer.
For many, the reality is that the story was mediocre. Even six months later, Lightfall has mostly negative reviews on Steam, a sign that fans expected more.
The stakes are now high in The Final Form, Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion that will conclude Destiny’s saga of light and dark in February, a story that has been told for nearly 10 years.
But with the unrest in the Destiny community, how will The Final Form attract back disgruntled or no longer playing Destiny 2 players, and what does the future hold for the Destiny universe?
“The Final Form, we knew from the beginning, was going to be the most basic thing we’ve ever released. What I hope is that, if you ever liked Destiny, this expansion is for you,” explains Joe Blackburn, Destiny 2 game director.
It looks like The Final Form will return to the kind of storytelling and experience that Bungie is best at, something we saw recently in The Witch Queen. Bungie is remaining tight-lipped about the narrative details of The Final Form, but we do know that players will enter The Traveler, a mysterious entity in the Destiny universe that hangs motionless in the sky as a source of light for Destiny players.
There will also be a battle against The Witness, the main antagonist of Destiny’s light and dark saga who commands the Black Fleet, an armada of pyramid ships that players have seen a lot of in-game and in trailers. But once this battle is over, what will happen to Destiny’s future?
From seasons to episodes
Bungie is moving to what it calls episodes, three blocks of new content per year for Destiny 2 that are slightly larger in scope than what is now offered seasonally. “We see episodes as the evolution of the seasonal model, not the evolution of Destiny as a whole,” Blackburn says.
If you remember the great Forsaken DLC, it was also three installments of content in one year. But it often felt slow, like you were waiting for something to happen in the game. “Three a year allowed us to do bigger, more cohesive stories…we’ve learned a lot in the last two or three years from our seasonal model about how we can do things better,” Blackburn says.
Each episode will include three acts, with new missions, story, armor, weapons and activities. Bungie is also committed to offering a new exotic weapon and a new exotic mission in each episode of the first three (Echoes, Revenant and Heresy) that begin after The Final Shape. It’s also interesting that Bungie has scheduled this content to begin in March and not immediately after the release of The Final Shape.
So what happens to the big annual Destiny 2 content release that players have been waiting so long for – is it going away? Blackburn declined to answer directly, instead referring to a statement on Destiny 2’s Twitter account.
Destiny 2 will continue after The Final Shape and the three Episodes announced today.
Over the past five years, we've been driving toward the culmination of the Light & Darkness Saga. It's a crucial moment in the Destiny Universe, but far from the last big story we have to tell.
Although this statement says neither yes nor no to a big annual DLC. “What we’re trying to do is not scare people that Destiny 2 is going away. It’s not. Our support is not going to end,” Blackburn explains. “We’re also trying to focus on what’s in front of us and not pivot the conversation to the next two years.”
So Bungie doesn’t seem willing to talk specifics, and I think a lot of that is because the studio is still figuring out exactly how its narrative for Destiny 2 will evolve beyond the immediate focus of The Final Form and the year ahead of us.
Only time will tell if Destiny survives… or if 2024 is its final farewell, just the year in which it will be a decade old.
Bungie has been particularly busy preparing for the upcoming Destiny 2 Season 19. Last year this time saw massive updates with the launch of version 3.4.0. This year will be no different, with changes taking place in several gameplay elements and modes in the sci-fi shooting game.
The first aspect that took the main focus for further development in Destiny 2 was the abilities. Bungie is trying hard to get that balance between abilities and weapons right with a 60/40 principle. For the most part, there’s a shift in the energy economy with changes to timed cooldowns and subclasses.
The Solar 3.0 PvE is also getting an upgrade, specifically with the constant healing. A previous Restoration fix was too powerful, so Bungie had to make some adjustments to Destiny 2. There will be new base healing rates, and Potency will also have a few minor adjustments.
There was a significant concern with overshields in the Void 3.0 update in that it didn’t quite work as Bungie. The damage resistance wasn’t as high as expected in the PvE battles, which means more changes are coming for Season 19. Voidwalker sees some adjustments to projectile speeds and impacts while Sentinel Titans will have upgrades made to Shield Bash. The team is also looking to improve visibility in PvP battles.
With Arc 3.0 being relatively new compared to the other Destiny 2 elements, Bungie is mostly monitoring feedback to find new ways to improve the system. Storm Grenade will see an upgraded base lifetime, for example. Also, you’ll see more damage with Ballistic Slam.
I could go on and on about the other changes, but you’re free to see the complete Bungie report. There’s also a new dungeon coming in Destiny 2 Season 19 that will appear on December 9, 2022. That’s all the information provided about that aspect.
However, I’m wondering what happened to the plans for Bungie making an FPS mobile game. We last reported on that in July, but we haven’t heard anything since.
Yes, you read that right. A Destiny 2 X Fortnite collaboration is indeed in the works, but you might be surprised by the form it takes. The usual Fortnite X whatever-franchise-is-popular-at-the-moment collaboration usually sees Batman dropping into Fortnite with various Batmobiles or Marshmellow porting his iconic get-up into the game as a purchasable skin. Not this time. This time, the benefit falls on Destiny 2. For now.
Ginsor is a dataminer of note. Their most recent datamining hijinx has revealed new content coming to Destiny 2. Before you go off pop about them adding various comical Fortnite assets into Destiny, let me finish. The results of this most recent datamining endeavour have revealed three skins coming to Destiny that actually fit the dramatically different and often more seriously regarded tone of the game.
The three skins appeared in one of Ginsor’s recent Twitter posts. The posts seem to show a Hunter, and Titan Warlock dressed to the nines in new cosmetics that look to be inspired by Drift, the Dark Night, and Omega. These three are individual skins and may only be the start of a potentially more grandiose collaboration.
We don’t know whether Fortnite will in-turn receive any Destiny 2-themed apparel, skins, or cosmetics, but today’s Destiny 2 showcase should definitely clear up the ensuing confusion about the scope of the potential collaboration. The showcase is also set to address the Arc 3.0 subclass update and what shape season 18 of the game will take. We should also get a little more clarity on any other plans for the franchise that have yet to be announced.
In other news, it seems that Bungie, the developers behind Destiny 2 are working on a new mobile FPS. While we doubt that any information will be released in the showcase regarding this, at least we know that there’s potentially more in the works over at Bungie HQ.
