Bloody Hell, Destiny 2: Player Numbers Hit 'Shut Up Shop' Lows (Again!) – Is This the Final Glitch?
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Recent data reveals Destiny 2's player count has plummeted to levels even worse than its disastrous 'Curse of Osiris' era, sparking fears among the community and signaling potential doom for Bungie's 'forever game' despite a new expansion on the horizon.
Right, so gather 'round, mates, because the digital tea leaves are looking a bit grim for our old pal *Destiny 2*. For a game that’s been dubbed a 'forever game' – a phrase that always makes me raise an eyebrow, mind you, because *nothing* is forever, not even my questionable spellcasting – things have been feeling a bit… *finite* lately. And according to some fresh data, the situation might be a fair bit more dire than even the most jaded Guardian would have reckoned.
Now, if you haven't been living under a rock (or perhaps, wisely, under a rock that *isn't* filled with *Destiny 2*'s latest seasonal shenanigans), player morale for Bungie's long-running MMOFPS has been on a bit of a nosedive. We've seen some truly head-scratching decisions, like the 'Portal' – a system meant to replace the seasonal content but which, frankly, landed with the grace of a brick-laden dodo. Then there's the perennial power level grind, loot issues, and other bits of 'fun' that feel less like a cosmic adventure and more like being stuck in a particularly mundane queue at the DMV. It's enough to make even the most dedicated player wonder if their ghost is about to go on strike.
I’ve been poking at this story for a while now, much like a curious wizard prodding a potentially volatile magical artefact. Remember my gentle skepticism about Bungie even *thinking* about a Star Wars license? Or the news back in August about ex-CEO Pete Parsons stepping down after a series of… well, let's call them 'oopsie-daisies'? It all felt like a precursor. And then there was my lament back in 2023 when Michael Salvatori was laid off, which, in my humble opinion, felt like the soundtrack skipping at the most dramatic moment. Sadly, it seems my crystal ball – or perhaps just my basic common sense – might have been onto something.
Here’s where it gets truly fascinating (and a touch alarming). Over the weekend, a brand-spanking-new tool popped up online, `popularity.report` by the rather clever 'rich-destiny'. Now, usually, we're squinting at SteamDB data, which is useful, don't get me wrong, but it’s like trying to understand the whole universe by looking at one particularly shiny pebble. This new tool, though, is far more granular. It pulls data from all corners of the Destiny universe, and let me tell you, what it shows is… well, it’s not pretty. Ahead of the upcoming 'Renegades' update, the overall player numbers are, by far, the worst we've ever seen.
And here’s the kicker, the bit that made me nearly drop my morning brew: the falloff is even worse than during the infamous 'Curse of Osiris' era. For those of you who might have wiped that particular memory from your hard drives (and who could blame you?), that was a period around 2018 when the community was in full-blown rebellion. Players were up in arms about the short story, repetitive patrol zones, a weak endgame, and a completely fumbled sandbox. Fast forward eight years, and – *bam!* – we're in pretty much the exact same spot: unsatisfying story, repetitive activities, a terrible endgame, and a frustrating meta. Funny how history loves to repeat itself, isn't it? It’s like Bungie accidentally cast a 'Groundhog Day' spell on their own game.
Justin Truman, Destiny 2’s general manager back then, gave a GDC presentation a couple of years ago that really drove home how close the game came to the brink during Curse of Osiris. He showed a graph of weekly active users and noted that in February 2018, the trend was 'f***ing terrifying.' He even did the maths: if the player exodus continued for just five more weeks, the entire player population would have been gone. Seriously, they were 'one month away from having to just close up shop on Destiny 2 altogether.' Can you imagine? Being that close to the digital abyss? If that was terrifying, I can only assume morale within Bungie’s ranks right now is lower than a Goblin’s boot straps.
It’s not just player numbers either. The studio itself has shrunk. Mass layoffs and a significant chunk of talent being moved over to the perpetually-delayed `Marathon` project mean that `Destiny 2`’s resources are stretched thinner than a wizard's patience with a buggy enchantment. And the creators, the folks who live and breathe the game like Gladd, Datto, and GernaderJake? They've all stopped streaming and playing. That's a massive red flag, mate. When the most dedicated advocates start walking away, you know there’s something genuinely amiss.
Even the notoriously vocal `Destiny` subreddit, a place usually teeming with colourful criticisms and passionate arguments, is seeing its most popular posts lamenting the game's demise. One particularly bleak, but all too relatable, sentiment joked: 'This is such an insult to me and the other 48 people that still play Destiny.' While the community has never been shy about its grievances, I can't recall a time in the game's decade-plus history where things looked quite this bleak. And trust me, I was in the trenches for the Curse of Osiris debacle!
So, what's next for `Destiny 2`? The 'Renegades' expansion is on the horizon, and Bungie has made some promising noises about reversing controversial plans (like another power cap reset, *thank the Traveler*). But will it be enough to lure players back to the Tower? With `Battlefield 6` making waves and a shiny new `Call of Duty` hitting the shelves, Bungie faces fiercer competition than it has in a while. At this player satisfaction nadir, they'll need to pull off something truly spectacular to stem this haemorrhaging.
Can a new expansion, even one with a potential Star Wars flavour, really reverse the damage? I'm not so sure. The problems feel far more deeply embedded now. The new player journey is a bewildering mess, much of the story is locked behind legacy content, and even navigating the in-game menus has become a chore. After Curse of Osiris, `Forsaken` truly saved `Destiny 2`, proving Bungie could listen and adapt. But these current issues feel much more structural, like foundational cracks in reality itself. It’s hard to shake the feeling that the developer is being evasive and single-minded. As someone who's sunk over 1000 hours into this universe, typing all this out is genuinely painful. I reckon the writing might just be on the wall for a series I've loved for so long. Here's hoping Bungie still has a few unexpected spells up their sleeve, eh?
Tags: Destiny 2, Bungie, Player Count, Live Service, Gaming Industry
Original article: Eurogamer