Future followers are spamming Sony’s State of Play livestream chat with the hashtag #WeWantDestiny, as they proceed to name for extra from Bungie’s looter shooter franchise, together with Future 3.
On the time of this text’s publication, with quarter-hour till at present’s State of Play (check out our live blog here for all the announcements), chat throughout numerous livestreams was filled with #WeWantDestiny in addition to requires Future 3, as followers proceed to push for a continuation of the sequence.
Bungie walked away from Future 2 earlier this yr, with father or mother firm Sony backing a deal with struggling extraction shooter Marathon as a substitute. Nevertheless, numerous Marathon updates have did not kickstart the sport, resulting in ever louder requires a return to Future.
Regardless of the focal assist for Future 3, it appears unlikely that Sony will inexperienced gentle the sport, which might certainly be one more dangerous costly growth undertaking at a time of maximum warning throughout the online game trade. However might Bungie have extra Future in some form or kind within the works? With Marathon struggling for participant numbers, how lengthy will Sony give it earlier than the axe falls on that sport, too?
Bungie’s points with Destiny 2 reportedly started across the time of final summer time’s Fringe of Destiny enlargement, which was mentioned to have underperformed. The choice to drag the plug was allegedly made “earlier this yr” after it was determined to not relaunch the franchise as “Future Infinity.”
Forbes reported that Bungie started discussing completely different eventualities about “what the way forward for Future 2 would appear to be” after December’s Renegades, its Star Wars-themed crossover enlargement, “did even worse [than Edge of Fate] and did not change gross sales or retention trajectory.”
Future Infinity would have been a relaunch alongside a return to the one massive enlargement mannequin Future used to have, however the thought fell by the wayside after it was allegedly determined that the prices and dangers had been too excessive, particularly within the context of assist for Marathon.
Future 3 “was thought-about, as ever, however issues did not swing that method,” and there was no behind-the-scenes hints {that a} third Future sport is coming, with the price of the sport’s manufacturing cited as the important thing challenge.
Future 2 launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 6, 2017, with a PC model following a month later. Behind the scenes, nonetheless, pressure between Bungie and writer Activision emerged, and the 2 corporations formally parted methods in January 2019, ending their 10-year publishing deal 5 years early.
With Future in its personal arms, Bungie self-published the sport, however it could not escape monetary troubles and layoffs as Future 2 expansions did not hit the mark and the participant base dwindled. Extraction shooter Marathon launched early March, with a reported finances of greater than $250 million. It too, in accordance with analysts, has failed to fulfill gross sales expectations.
Bungie has struggled financially for a while, and reportedly was getting ready to closure earlier than Sony purchased the studio again in 2022 for $3.6 billion. Sony recently reported a $765 million impairment loss because of underperformance of Bungie particularly.
Bungie suffered a big spherical of layoffs that got here with the choice to finish Future 2 growth. The cuts hit almost 300 workers who labored on the developer’s Bellevue, Washington workplace, official information revealed.
A Employee Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) discover issued by Sony to the Washington State Employment Safety Division, reported by Game File, revealed 292 workers had been let go along with a proper separation date set for July 9. This quantity doesn’t account for Bungie workers outdoors Washington state. It’s unknown what number of workers stay at Bungie following the cuts, though the studio was reported to have employed 850 workers as of 2024.
It was Bungie’s third spherical of layoffs in three years. In keeping with The Seattle Times, Bungie as soon as had 1,000 workers in Bellevue, in accordance with a 2023 annual monetary report from town. Between October 2023 and July 2024, Bungie laid off round 320 workers. Local press called the cuts a “bloodbath.”
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.