One of Bungie’s big bets was Payback, an incubation project set in the Destiny universe that would shake up the formula in major ways, according to the people familiar. It would pivot from a first-person to a third-person perspective and allow players to use the franchise’s characters to explore a large world while cooperating to battle monsters and solve puzzles. The pitch took elements from popular games such as Warframe and Genshin Impact.
Although several internet rumors over the last few months have suggested that Payback would be a sequel to Destiny 2, it was a significant departure from the previous two games, according to the people familiar, and would have been perceived more as a spinoff.
But two months ago Bungie canceled Payback to prioritize games that were more imminent, moving the bulk of its team to Marathon, which is targeting a release in 2025.
The company also plans to continue updating Destiny 2, although it will no longer pursue regular paid expansions as it did in the past, according to the people familiar. During one recent meeting, a company leader told attendees that sales of each expansion had declined year over year, including June’s The Final Shape, so they would be moving away from an annual release model.
Some staff said they’re optimistic about the vision for Destiny 2 under new director Tyson Green, a Bungie veteran who took the helm earlier this year. In the coming months, the people said, Bungie will look to retain and attract players with smaller-scale content drops modeled after Into the Light, a well-received update in April that added a new mode to the game. Rather than selling this content, they said, Bungie will aim to release it for free along with overhauls to activities that it hopes will appeal to hardcore players. Other vague plans for the future include a storyline that will feature characters and worlds that Destiny has not yet explored.
Fans have wondered if Bungie might one day start anew with a Destiny 3, but such a project has not been in development, according to the people familiar. Bungie is instead looking to create a smoother onboarding process for Destiny 2, such as a rebranding, to attract new players who might be turned off by a game that can now feel impenetrable to those unfamiliar with its ample proper nouns.
Those left at Bungie will now have to make do with a smaller staff, tighter schedules and a company that looks significantly different than it did three days ago. Longtime veterans Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy exited this week, according to the people familiar, as did several other top leaders, leaving lingering questions about the future of decision-making at Bungie.
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