Why there will never be another Destiny

Ten
years
ago
today,
Activision
published
a
new
shooter
from
Halo
developer
Bungie:
Destiny.

Although
‘a
shooter’
is
perhaps
a
tad
reductive,
since
it
was
above
and
beyond
anything
Bungie
–
or
indeed
other
studios
–
had
produced.

“When
Destiny
originally
launched,
there
was
nothing
quite
like
it
–
even
figuring
out
how
to
communicate
its
genre
was
a
massive
communication
exercise
for
the
marketing
teams,”
indie
developer,
consultant,
and
noted
Destiny
fan
Rami
Ismail
tells

GamesIndustry.biz.
“It
was
an
FPS,
sure,
and
structured
like
an
MMO
but
not
quite
‘massive’.
It
was
PvE
with
a
big
campaign,
but
also
PvP.
It
took
the
‘looter
shooter’
and
made
that
a
very
successful
live
service
model.

“That
combination
became
one
of
the
‘things
to
make’
for
almost
half
a
decade,
before
Fortnite
came
along.
In
that
way,
like
every
trend
setting
game,
Destiny
was
both
a
boon
and
a
curse.
If
anything,
it
was
the
first
major
indicator
that
live
service
was
going
to
be

the
thing
for
the
decade
since.”

“Destiny
deserves
to
be
studied
as
the
encapsulation
of
a
very
specific
period
in
the
development
of
video
games,
one
that
I
don’t
think
we’ll
ever
get
back
to”

Rachel
Weber,
IGN

IGN
managing
editor
(and

GamesIndustry.biz
alum)
Rachel
Weber
adds
that
not
only
was
Destiny
the
first
game
to
nail
the
appeal
of
a
shared
world
shooter,
it
also
demonstrated
Bungie’s
continuing
prowess
when
it
came
to
world-building
and
storytelling.
“

“It
stood
out
as
more
than
just
a
pretty
shader
applied
to
the
same
old
pew
pew
mechanics.
It
was
a
rare
idea
that
appealed
to
the
lucrative
competitive
shooter
and
MMORPG
crowds,
an
audience
who
were
the
first
to
make
peace
with
microtransactions
and
content
chopped
up
into
expansions.”

Statistics
from
Circana’s
Retail
Tracking
Service
help
add
more
context
to
Destiny’s
success:
since
it
first
launched
in
September
2014,
Destiny
has
become
the
34th
biggest
video
game
franchise
of
all
time
in
terms
of
US
full-game
dollar
sales
across
physical
and
digital
–
and
that’s
without
microtransactions
and
DLC
expansions.

The
original
Destiny
was
the
30th
best-selling
game
between
September
2014
and
July
2024,
beating
Fallout
4
but
behind
Elden
Ring.
Destiny
2,
meanwhile,
is
61st
–
that’s
again
for
full-game
sales
only.

Bungie
caught
the
industry’s
attention
at
the
time
and,
as
with
any
other
games
sensation,
Destiny
inspired
others
to
follow
in
its
footsteps.

The
Destiny
effect

Ampere
Analysis’
Piers
Harding-Rolls
says
Destiny
stands
as
the
most
successful
franchise
to
combine
the
looter
shooter
genre
with
the
live
service
model,
while
Bungie’s
handling
of
the
shift
to
free-to-play
in
October
2019
became
“a
live
service
blueprint
for
retaining
a
happy
userbase.”

The
analyst
says
you
see
the
influence
of
Destiny
in
titles
such
as
EA
and
BioWare’s
Anthem
and
Ubisoft’s
The
Division.
Even
in
2024,
we’re
seeing
releases
that
draw
inspiration
from
Bungie’s
title,
such
as
Sony’s
Helldivers
2
and
Nexon’s
The
First
Descendant.
But
while
some
of
these
games
have
fared
well,
Harding-Rolls
notes
that
most
publishers
have
“underestimated
the
investment
and
expertise
needed
to
deliver
something
of
the
scale
and
success
of
Destiny
and
Destiny
2.”

“There
are
lots
of
games
that
were
influenced
by
Destiny
and
likewise
there
were
lots
of
games
that
inspired
Bungie
to
build
Destiny.
Most
games
inspired
by
the
Destiny
franchise
have
been
unable
to
deliver
its
longevity
and
long-term
engagement,”
he
says,
citing
Anthem,
Marvel’s
Avengers,
Outriders,
and
Babylon’s
Fall
as
prime
examples
of
Destiny-inspired
games
that
struggled
or
outright
failed.

“Most
of
these
games
failed
because
they
didn’t
have
the
depth
of
content,
the
polished
product
or
the
gameplay
quality
delivered
by
Destiny.
They
were
not
good
enough
to
pull
gamers
away
from
their
chosen
live
service
games
for
a
long
period
of
time.”

“Everyone’s
leaned
on
the
‘Bungie
magic’
and
the
rabbit
hasn’t
always
come
out
of
the
hat
in
the
way
everyone
had
hoped”

Mat
Piscatella,
Circana

Weber
adds:
“The
cursed
ghost
town
that
was
Anthem
encapsulates
all
the
mistakes
the
companies
chasing
the
Destiny
dollar
made.
There
were
the
stories
of
a
troubled,
directionless
development,
technical
problems
that
made
it
an
unreliable
experience
whether
you
were
trying
to
play
solo
or
with
friends,
and
a
complete
underestimation
of
how
fast
players
would
burn
through
content.

“We
won’t
ever
see
another
Destiny.
It’s
had
ten
years
of
constant
change,
highs
and
lows,
and
multiple
expansions
–
you’re
never
going
to
be
able
to
sell
that
formula
to
a
boardroom
of
moneymen.
The
risks
are
too
huge,
the
challenge
is
too
big,
and
–

as
Concord
has
shown
–
the
patience
required
is
too
high.

“Destiny
deserves
to
be
studied
as
the
encapsulation
of
a
very
specific
period
in
the
development
of
video
games,
one
that
I
don’t
think
we’ll
ever
get
back
to.”

Circana’s
executive
director
for
video
games
Mat
Piscatella
says
that,
while
Destiny
showed
how
titles
could
hold
players
and
their
wallets
for
long
periods
of
time,
titles
such
as
Fortnite,
Minecraft,
Roblox,
and
Grand
Theft
Auto
Online
have
since
“perfected
the
formula.”

“Most
games
inspired
by
Destiny
have
been
unable
to
deliver
its
longevity
and
long-term
engagement”

Piers
Harding-Rolls,
Ampere
Analysis

“Since
then,
Anthem,
Remnant
2,
The
Division,
Borderlands
3,
and
of
course
Suicide
Squad:
Kill
the
Justice
League
have
all
entered
the
market
following
at
least
parts
of
the
Destiny
formula,”
he
says.
“None
of
these
games
quite
reached
the
success
Destiny
achieved.
I’m
not
sure
that
any
future
titles
will
either.

“While
the
gameplay
elements,
social
hooks,
and
loot
aspects
of
the
game
will
always
be
attractive
to
players,
I’m
not
sure
we’ll
see
another
self-contained
game
like
it
succeed
in
the
same
way
due
to
changing
player
tastes
and
the
competitive
offerings
from
things
like
Fortnite.”

Wedbush
Morgan
analyst
Michael
Pachter
suggests
Destiny’s
influence
can
even
be
seen
in
other
genres.

“No
two
games
are
identical
–
except
maybe
Battlefield
and
Call
of
Duty
–
but
it’s
clear
that
Destiny
begat
Overwatch,
Apex
Legends,
and
maybe
some
elements
of
Fortnite,”
he
says.
“The
variations
in
characters
(for
Destiny,
particularly
with
the
introduction
of
alien
races)
keeps
the
RPG
element
of
the
game
fresh,
and
there
is
lots
of
variability
of
weapons,
making
the
game
seem
[new]
each
season.
I
suspect
that
we
haven’t
seen
the
end
of
RPG
shooters.”

The
future
of
Bungie

Given
the
visible
influence
Destiny
has
had
on
some
of
the
highest-profile
multiplayer
games
over
the
past
ten
years
–
and
especially
over
some
of
the
biggest
failures
–
it
would
be
easy
to
argue
that
Bungie’s
title
alone
set
the
industry
on
its
current
path,
shifting
more
and
more
to
a
live
service
model.

Piscatella
disagrees
with
this
–
“It’s
always
been
its
own
weird
thing
in
a
way”
–
instead
arguing
that
the
biggest
impact
Destiny
has
had
on
the
industry
lies
in
Bungie
and
its
relationship
with
publishers.

Destiny
was
published
as
the
first
title
in
a

ten-year
deal
between
Bungie
and
Activision
Blizzard,
the
first
agreement
the
studio
had
secured
after
reclaiming
its
independence
from
Microsoft.
The
partnership

ended
two
years
early,
however,
with

Activision
claiming
Destiny
“was
not
meeting
[its]
financial
expectations”
but
that
the
split
was
a
“mutual
agreement.”

Bungie
survived
four
years
as
an
independent
before
it
was

acquired
by
Sony
for
$3.6
billion,
part
of
the
PlayStation
firm’s
bid
to
establish
itself
in
the
live
service
space.
Reports
have
suggested
that,
while
Bungie
was
originally
given
a
good
level
of
autonomy,

Sony
has
considered
taking
over
if
the
studio
fails
to
meet
its
financial
targets.

“I’m
not
sure
[the
Activision
deal]
went
the
way
anyone
really
wished
it
to,”
says
Piscatella.
“And
looking
now
at
the
post-Sony
acquisition
era,
it’s
also
been
a
bit
bumpy,
to
say
the
least.
There
have
been
the
multiple
waves
of
layoffs
of
course,
and
the
transition
of
employees
from
Bungie
to
Sony
roles.

“Destiny
has
been
the
thing
that
has
tied
these
eras
together.
Everyone’s
leaned
on
the
‘Bungie
magic’
and
the
rabbit
hasn’t
always
come
out
of
the
hat
in
the
way
everyone
had
hoped.”

Despite
all
this,
Destiny
2
seems
to
be
faring
well.
Harding-Rolls
tells
us
the
latest
expansion,
The
Final
Shape,
saw
player
numbers
across
PlayStation,
Xbox,
and
Steam
reach
nearly
seven
million,
and
while
this
has
dropped
off
since
launch,
there’s
a
solid
number
of
players
returning
every
day.

Circana’s
Player
Engagement
Tracker
shows
that
the
average
active
Destiny
2
player
spent
more
than
25
hours
on
the
game
in
August
–
a
figure
Piscatella
tells
us
has
remained
fairly
steady
since
January
2021,
albeit
with
spikes
around
the
release
of
new
content.

“It’s
a
dedicated
player
base,
although
one
that
has
contracted
a
bit
in
number
[over
the
years],”
he
adds.
“All
things
considered,
Destiny
2
remains
a
strong
franchise,
but
one
that
has
been
losing
a
bit
of
its
player
base
over
the
past
few
years.
But
those
players
that
are
playing
remain
as
dedicated
to
it
as
they’ve
ever
been.”

This
is
another
area
in
which
Destiny
has
demonstrated
Bungie’s
ability
to
do
something
few
studios
can
handle
in
quite
the
same
way:
catering
to
multiple
different
audiences
simultaneously.

“Destiny
must
often
be
one
of
the
most
thankless
games
to
work
on
in
the
world,”
Rami
Ismail
says.
“It’s
enormous,
but
due
to
the
diverse
ways
audiences
can
engage
with
it,
that
audience
is
split
along
very
strong
ideological
lines.
You’ve
got
PvP,
PvE,
even
PvPvE,
and
then
in
each
of
those
categories,
you’ve
got
everything
from
fashionistas
and
glitchmakers
to
meta
hunters
and
challenge
players,
casual
players
and
hard-hardcore
players,
loremasters
and
influencers
–
and
they
all
want
something
else.

“Destiny
has
always
been
super
interesting
to
watch
from
the
perspective
of
a
director
and
designer,
but
I
don’t
envy
them.
That’s
a
monster
to
tame.”

Rami
Ismail

“Destiny
is
weird
because
the
game
wouldn’t
work
without
all
those
aspects,
but
it
also
can’t
quite
work
because
of
all
of
those
aspects.
It
often
finds
itself
swerving
wildly
between
different
audience
groups,
angering
any
one
group
only
long
enough
to
satisfy
the
others
–
and
I
often
wonder
how
much
longer
the
community
and
the
game
can
offer
that
elasticity.
So
far,
they’ve
always
managed
to
keep
that
(just)
within
bounds,
but
with
the
severity
of
the
layoffs
and
the
limitations
on
their
available
legacy
knowledge
and
experience,
I
hope
they
can
keep
that
up.

“Destiny
has
always
been
super
interesting
to
watch
from
a
director/designer
perspective,
but
I
don’t
envy
them.
That’s
a
monster
to
tame.”

So
what
of
the
future?
Concord’s
collapse
saw
‘Destiny
3’
trending
on
social
media
last
week,
so
it’s
clear
that
demand
for
Bungie’s
sci-fi
shooter
isn’t
drying
up
any
time
soon.
Whether
or
not
a
third
game
could
capture
the
same
success
of
its
forebears
remains
less
clear;
the
industry
has
changed
so
much,
other
live
service
games
dominate,
and
(as
established
above)
the
original
Destiny
went
beyond
what
anyone
expected.

“Destiny
has
evolved
so
far
beyond
that
first
release
a
decade
ago
that
I’m
sure
even
Bungie
couldn’t
have
predicted
how
layered
the
game
would
become
thanks
to
the
expansions
and
sequel,”
Weber
concludes.

“I’m
sure
at
this
point
Destiny
is
down
to
the
true
faithful
in
terms
of
player
numbers,
and
post-PlayStation’s
Concord
fumble
they’ll
be
sweating
about
the
future
of
the
game
under
Sony’s
leadership…
I
really
hope
Bungie’s
next
project,
Marathon,
survives
Sony’s
strategy
and
builds
on
that
foundation
of
long-term
love
to
keep
that
clan
of
Hunters,
Titans,
and
Warlocks
alive.”