Bungie’s Destiny 2 Roadmap Isn’t Just Ambitious – It’s Surprisingly Refreshing
Despite a bevy of new consoles set to hit shelves later this year, a straight-up Destiny sequel isn't in the cards. | Source: Bungie
- Bungie finally revealed new details about the future of Destiny 2.
- There are currently no plans to release a third entry in the franchise.
- Here’s why that’s a refreshing departure from the conventional game development model.
Bungie lifted the curtain on the future of the Destiny franchise on Tuesday, and the roadmap included quite the refreshing surprise. It doesn’t involve a follow-up to Destiny 2 – at least not yet.
The Bellevue, WA-based studio and publisher revealed their plans for their signature sci-fi series (well, the one they own the rights to, anyway).
The roadmap extends well into 2022, and it includes a new expansion – Beyond Light – that’s set to release in September.
Destiny 2 Roadmap Shows How Bungie Is Moving Beyond Activison
Despite a bevy of new consoles set to hit shelves later this year, a straight-up sequel isn’t in the cards. Rather, they’re going to build upon the userbase they already have.
That’s a far cry from the strategy of their former publisher, Activision, and closer to the one Blizzard has used for years with World of Warcraft. That’s ironic, considering who currently owns Blizzard. But that’s neither here nor there.
Of course, building upon a current game while maintaining what came before is a huge chore, one that Bungie fully admits they realistically can’t do. Which is why they’re moving a lot of the older content – including all of the original Destiny – into what they’re calling the “Destiny Content Vault.”
Bungie explains:
Put plainly, we are investing in Destiny 2 for years to come. But to continue your Guardian’s journey and deliver on this roadmap, we need to make some changes to our ever-growing world so it can flourish.
What does that mean? Older missions, up to a point, simply won’t be available like they are now – although they will be bringing some back from time to time.
And that’s understandable!
While it would be amazing to be able to play all these old missions over and over while new ones are added, Bungie simply doesn’t have the manpower or the financial resources they once did while working with Activision to make it happen.
Original content is going away
So, sacrifices have to be made, and as much as there’s still a strong fanbase for the original game, it’s an unncessary drain on Bungie’s resources. Remember, this is still technically an online game, despite how much single-player content it has.
That being said, this is still the smart way to go for Bungie. In fact, I’d wager we’ll be seeing more and more games go this route.
Not every franchise, of course. Sequels are still big money for pretty much, well… everyone. But games like Destiny 2 and sports titles like Madden NFL and the beleaguered WWE 2K series could benefit greatly from this model.
In the long run, having more variety in the way games are presented and delivered is best for everybody – especially gamers. And it looks like Bungie is leading the way.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
