On Monday, as the makers of Destiny 2, Bungie, announced that they are going to discontinue live updates for the game with the 9 update and put the game on maintenance mode, buzz about Destiny 3 has only grown on social media.
But a sequel to Destiny is not coming as Bungie has decided to devote attention to a new game title altogether, called Marathon. And that has made Destiny fans heartbroken, including popular video game writer Paul Tassi.
Noting the accusations that Marathon "killed" a potential Destiny sequel, Tassi acknowledged in his piece for Forbes that the decision of Bungie was "more complicated." But he notes that the developer's shift of focus on Marathon from Destiny 2 was evident in a series of content gaps Destiny players faced over the last two years. He adds that it has caused the game's user base to fall.
"I’m genuinely sad. Destiny has been the literal cornerstone of my entire career, and I would not be where I am without it," Tassi writes for Forbes. "I’ve written at least a thousand articles about the game, its ins and outs, its problems (many, many problems), its victories and everything in between.
"There’s nothing to fill this gap in my gaming life, certainly not Marathon, and I am in fact quite angry at how all this has been handled under the most recent Bungie administration, and how the past leaders practically fleeced Sony with the overvalued sale before bailing out themselves."
{{/usCountry}}"There’s nothing to fill this gap in my gaming life, certainly not Marathon, and I am in fact quite angry at how all this has been handled under the most recent Bungie administration, and how the past leaders practically fleeced Sony with the overvalued sale before bailing out themselves."
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Destiny 2 final update: New raids, dungeon loots, destination, modes out; Pantheon 2.0 introduced
Why Did Bungie Shift To Marathon From Destiny 2
The discontinuation of Destiny 2 has likely occurred due to the studio and its parent company Sony's strategic shift. Many feel that Destiny, one of the most popular live MMO first-person gaming universes despite being in its 12th year, has run its course and continuing it forever will not be a good idea.
Additionally, the game's core narrative arc was also complete with ‘The Final Shape’ chapter. Thus, they decided to pivot to an entirely different live-service updates MMO universe.
On top of that, Bungie has had staffing issues with running both games after laying off around 220 employees in July 2024. With the pressures of finances looming, the studio was pushed into a situation where it had to prioritized one over the other, and they chose Marathon.
But concerns around whether Marathon can live up to the popularity of Destiny 2 are still uncertain. "Bungie will not be the same after this. Not even close," Tassi writes in the Forbes piece. "I think it will continue to exist, hence Sony’s it’s-still-worth-a-lot-to-us valuation, but it’s going to get smaller, and it’s going to be focused on a game that would appear to have less potential than even the twelfth year of Destiny would have."