The 'Destiny Infinity' Relaunch Was One of the Ideas to Save Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is reportedly moving toward a future without content updates, with the final expansions scheduled to end in June. A full sequel, Destiny 3, may not be in the works at all, according to recent reports. As someone who has watched a beloved MMO fade away, only to be resurrected on a private server, I can understand the sense of loss among the community. But the question remains: could Destiny 2 have been saved? Could a different approach have kept the game alive, possibly even leading to an infinity-thanked rebirth?
According to Paul Tassi of Forbes, Bungie considered a soft reboot of Destiny 2 after the controversial release of the Edge of Fate expansion. One of the ideas reportedly discussed was scrapping the two-expansion model and returning to an annual expansion schedule. This would have involved renaming the game "Destiny Infinity", essentially treating it as a new chapter in the franchise. The goal, as described by the sources, was to relaunch the game under a new identity rather than launching a full-fledged Destiny 3, which would have been a significant risk.
The twice-yearly expansion model was a change from the previous structure and was met with mixed reactions. The Edge of Fate expansion, which followed The Final Shape, was widely criticized and is seen as one of the weaker entries in the series. In contrast, The Final Shape itself was praised by many, including Phil Savage, PC Gamer's editor-in-chief, who called it "one of the best expansions in the series' history." This inconsistency in quality likely contributed to player frustration and the eventual decline in interest.
Despite the game's performance—Marathon, the publisher, reportedly made a significant amount of money from the game—its future wasn't guaranteed. As one of Tassi's sources explained, even if Destiny 2 had made a billion dollars, it might have still been at risk of being shut down. The decision to end content updates wasn't made on the spot, but rather as a long-term strategy based on the game's trajectory.
While it's impossible to say whether a return to form or a soft relaunch would have worked, it's clear that the current path for Destiny 2 has left a lot of fans feeling disillusioned. The idea of a Destiny Infinity relaunch shows that Bungie was open to exploring alternatives to keep the game relevant. Whether or not those ideas would have succeeded is a question we may never have the answer to. For now, the game's story is coming to a close, and the community is left to reflect on what could have been.
