Summary
Destiny 2has been in a rough spot for a long while now, with the launch of Lightfall being the first of a series of problems with Bungie’s looter-shooter. Lightfall didn’t meet players' expectations in terms of gameplay and narrative, with the story failing to deliver answers to long-standing questions, which were only tackled starting with Season of the Deep - over three months later. Issues started piling up, with players becoming well aware of the many microtransactions inDestiny 2, with the recent Bungie layoffs and The Final Shape delay exacerbating negative feelings within the community - and apparently within the remaining developer teams, too. Based on all this and a recentreport on Bungie’s situation, The Final Shape has a whole lot riding on its shoulders.
According to information that surfaced after thelayoffs at Bungie, one of the reasons why this happened is thatDestiny 2’s revenue projections were placing it at minus 45% compared to expectations, which likely was a byproduct of many great games coming in 2023 as well as Lightfall disappointing fans who were then less inclined to pre-order The Final Shape. A new report from IGN, however, highlights that another major reason why Bungie laid off so many developers is that not meeting certain revenue thresholds could allow Sony to take over, dissolve the board, and acquire full control of the company.
Destiny 2’s The Final Shape is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
This is no small thing, as it would be a total takeover that would allow Sony to handle any Bungie game as it pleases, as well as retain or lay off any number of developers, and the Bungie that players know would be entirely gone. However, it could be argued that this has already happened with the layoffs and the lack of trust and goodwill towards the studio after all the issues that arose in the past year, including the recentDestiny 2Starter Packthat stirred a huge controversy.
The fact that there’s a chance of Sony taking over Bungie is not only hanging over the studio’s metaphorical head as a Damocles' sword, but it also puts The Final Shape between a rock and a hard place, especially with everything else going on. In fact, The Final Shape is the culmination of a 10-year saga that started withDestiny 2’s predecessor and was more recently propelled toward a conclusion with the game’s narrative.
The problem is that The Final Shape wouldn’t be a great time to pick up the game for newcomers as much as it would be a good time for veterans to jump ship after the story they’ve been caring for ends.
The Final Shape Needs to be a Huge Success to Avoid Sony’s Takeover
This puts a lot of pressure on the expansion’s performance, as Bungie needs a financial win to keep things rolling and retain full control of the company, butThe Final Shape’s releasemight do just the opposite. Even if The Final Shape performs very well, it’s likely that someDestiny 2players will be leaving for greener pastures after the Light and Darkness saga ends, and a four-month episode can only keep them engaged for so long.
So not only does The Final Shape need to deliver and become a huge success, but it needs to keep those loyal fans invested enough not to abandon the game and instead keep playing for the next few months before a major expansion is revealed - if it’s in the pipeline, that is.Destiny 2’s new episodic modelcould make or break the game’s future, and with it, the studio’s too. The Final Shape is not about “winning back players” anymore, but it could be Bungie’s only shot at survival.
