I'm Not Ready To Say Goodbye To Destiny 2 (2024)

The release of The Final Shape DLC for Destiny 2 dictates the end of the decade-long Light versus Darkness saga, established with the release of the original shooter in the series back in 2014. The new expansion by developer Bungie now takes players into the heart of the Traveler following the events involving the terraforming entity and the Witness at the end of the Lightfall DLC. With Guardians now wielding both Light and Darkness, they will give it their all to stop the Witness’ plans of reshaping life itself and finally saving the galaxy from an ever-present threat.

Developers have already outlined the influx of content throughout the upcoming year, starting with the new expansion. Instead of seasons, the release of The Final Shape for Destiny 2 will establish a new format with its 18-week-long episodes, all of which are divided into three acts. This change is said to ensure a more even spread of content to play through over the next few months. However, while the popular shooter is still bound to have content for the upcoming year, there is a feeling of parting with the release of The Final Shape that is simply daunting.

I’ve Been Playing Destiny For The Past 10 Years

I Found Friends & Love In Bungie’s Shooter

Like a lot of the live-service titles I play, I got heavily enthralled in the universe of this space shooter. I’ve been playing Destiny since its lackluster launch in 2014 and, despite its average reviews and evident issues, I found a place where I could connect with friends and even make new ones. There was something special about unwinding after a hard day of work by running easy strikes with my Fireteam and then shifting into special challenges to obtain exclusive rewards. I remember the fun communication chaos when trying to obtain the Exotic Swords from the Sunless Cell strike.

I also had indescribable experiences with my friends running Raids, such as the Vault of Glass. I even found love through Destiny 2, as that was the game that connected me with my wife when we first met. We’d spend hours running activities as an excuse to get to know ourselves better while also having collaborative fun. Luckily, most of these memories can be revisited or slightly revisited in the game’s current state. The game is larger than ever and some content from the first game was adapted into the second one, providing those same challenges with twists.

Beyond my personal experiences, Destiny has been an important part of many peoples’ lives, as exemplified by Parris in a post on X (formerly Twitter). In the post, the popular content creator talks about how his son started playing the franchise at nine years old and, now, around the time of the release of The Final Shape, he is graduating from high school at 18 years old.

Parris thanks Bungie for the “amazing father and son moments playing this game together.” It is hard to describe the type of bonding that can happen when sharing experiences in a game like Destiny, especially one that goes on for a decade rather than in a limited coop experience that ends after a few hours of gameplay.

Surely, Bungie’s shooter has issues, as is the case with any live-service product, but as it moves forward, these problems get addressed and it feels more like home, tailored for all types of players. It may be wishful thinking to cling on to a game that provided me with such special memories, but the franchise itself was always a place where I felt welcome and safe. In spite of the dichotomy between that feeling and playing as a Lightbearer facing numerous galactic threats, Destiny has been there for the better part of my adulthood and in a very positive way.

I’ve yet to play through The Final Shape and see if I catch any hints at where the story of the franchise may be going beyond this first year of chapters that should end around June 2025, but I already feel bad at the prospect of having to say goodbye. I do hope that Destiny 2 either lives on beyond The Final Shape with more expansions and updates or that the rumors of a Destiny 3 are true – regardless of which approach Bungie chooses to take, I just want to continue playing Destiny and crafting more unique moments.

The Final Shape Ends Destiny 2’s Largest Saga

DLC Feels Like The Last One

Despite the announcement that the game will have content for the upcoming year, The Final Shape feels like an unwilling farewell to the universe that was crafted by Bungie over the past 10 years, and the thought of that is horrifying. The first indicator is that Destiny 2: The Final Shape is the conclusion to the franchise’s most important saga. Surely, live-service games can continue living on well beyond the end of their main storyline, as exemplified by the upcoming release of the Dawntrail DLC for FFXIV, but there seems to be little else to go on, for now.

There are more planets in Sol to explore and even other galaxies to delve into, where the Traveler and the Witness have already gone through. However, the risk feels a lot less important than the one posed by the big villain. As a fan and avid player, not knowing what type of content you can expect after this one year composed of three episodes feels terrible and this is the first time in years that Destiny 2’s extended roadmap hasn’t been laid out clearly for players to anticipate.

This is even more concerning when taking into consideration the current state of the industry and the layoffs that have affected a large portion of the team at Bungie recently. There are talks about the release of a Destiny 3 following the conclusion of the contents of The Final Shape and its year-long series of episodes, but a sequel sounds even less likely now than before. Hopefully, my speculation and pessimism around the industry and its unsustainable state are wrong, and not only do we get more Destiny, but devs at Bungie find a better work environment moving forward.

Source: X/Parris

Destiny 2

Platform(s)

PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , PC , Stadia

Released

August 28, 2017

Developer(s)

Bungie

Publisher(s)

Bungie

Genre(s)

FPS

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op

ESRB

T For TEEN for Blood, Language, and Violence

Expansions

Destiny 2: Forsaken , Destiny 2: Shadowkeep , Destiny 2: Beyond Light , Destiny 2: The Witch Queen , Destiny 2: Lightfall

Metascore

85

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC, PS4,PS5, Xbox One &Xbox Series X|S

Number of Players

1-6 (Co-Op)

PS Plus Availability

Essential, Extra, & Premium (The Witch Queen)