If Destiny 2 is going to survive, Bungie needs to finally start un-vaulting content

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Bungie’s Destiny 2 is facing difficulties. After the launch of The Final Shape, the free-to-play loot shooter has seen a significant drop in active players and criticism towards recent narrative choices. Despite this, it still has enough players to sustain its playerbase until Marathon arrives.

Despite an effort to expand its fanbase, Destiny’s player growth has been sluggish. One significant factor contributing to this is the game’s challenging introduction for newcomers. To streamline the experience, Bungie decided to eliminate older content from the game, which included getting rid of past expansions and the original D2 narrative.

Destiny 2 needs un-vault content

As a fan, I have to admit that although Destiny 2 isn’t outright hostile towards newcomers, it can be quite challenging for beginners. To make the experience smoother for fresh players, Bungie decided to reprise the opening scene of the original Destiny, effectively skipping over the Red War narrative, which was the initial storyline of Destiny 2 before transitioning into the New Light story arc.

In its current version, there’s no sense of a straightforward path in the game. Although the abundance of content was intended to simplify the New Player Experience, it has instead led to greater perplexity. Instead of being immersed in a familiar universe, you find yourself lost and bewildered. While Red War might have been confusing for those who hadn’t played the original game, it did provide a solid introduction, motivation, and sufficient guidance to keep new players engaged.

Elevating content within a game means essential plotlines and character growth are inaccessible to most players. While spending ten hours watching a “My name is Byf” video might be enjoyable, it’s not the optimal method to understand a universe. Instead, immersion through personal play is recommended, yet this option is unavailable for newcomers.

Games that persistently grow over time do so by maintaining an inviting environment for newcomers. For instance, The Elder Scrolls Online, even after numerous expansions, still offers its primary questline. Although this content isn’t essential and can be skipped, it provides a comprehensive experience of the world, the story, and the game itself that these players have invested in.

In its current state, Destiny 2 is unusual in its approach to removing content, and this strategy has consistently had a negative impact year after year. For Destiny 2 to expand and thrive rather than just survive, Bungie should significantly enhance the opening experience, re-introduce cut content, and make the overall gameplay more accessible for all players.

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2025-01-09 20:12