Bungie gives up on Destiny

Bungie is moving on from Destiny 2. The studio announced Thursday that it’s releasing the last major update for the game on June 9th as its focus “turns towards a new beginning for Bungie.” After that final update, the game will remain playable, much like the first Destiny.

“Many changes in this final update will aim to ensure that Destiny 2 is a welcoming place for players to return to,” Bungie says.

The announcement post has a lot of information about what will be added to this final update, and up to and shortly after launch, Bungie will share more details about the changes. But after that, its weekly blog entries will “be entering a form of hibernation as well,” and the studio says that when it has more news about Destiny, “you’ll be the first to know.” Bungie released the first Destiny — its big bet after Halo — in 2014, and it launched Destiny 2 in 2017.

The studio isn’t getting out of the live-service space, however. Earlier this year, Bungie released the extraction shooter Marathon, and while it hasn’t been quite as big a deal as Destiny 2 in its heyday, the game has been well-received. But it appears that the studio’s next title will be something new and not in the Destiny universe. “The unknown can sometimes feel wild, even a bit scary at times, but these opportunities to explore the future are invigorating,” Bungie says. “As we look ahead, our commitment remains the same: to make games we, and you, are excited to play.”

Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, and Bungie has had a rough go of things in the years since, including layoffs and a delay for Marathon. Sony acquired the company while it was in the midst of its big live service push that it has scaled back significantly, and live service games in general are something of a mess right now.