The mood around Destiny as a franchise, and the second game in particular, has never been as bleak as it is right at this very moment and it's difficult to see how Bungie are going to find a way out of it.
The release of The Final Shape really was a bit of an Avengers: Endgame moment for the game, and the developer has really struggled to nail down what they do next to keep the live service release viable.
One of the potential routes out of the situation is for Bungie to drop an entirely fresh sequel, a new game that would not necessarily come with the upsetting amount of baggage that Destiny 2 has built over the years. Unfortunately, the performance of the franchise since its purchase by Sony may put that idea firmly in the rear view mirror, as the company attempts to avoid further financial viability.
Destiny 3 May Be Off The Table Forever
As first reported by PCGamesN, Destiny 2 has failed to reach the expectations Sony had for it financially, and that could well be more than enough to stop investment in another project.
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That revelation comes from Sony CFO Lin Tao, who went into detail on Bungie's financial situation during a recent earnings call. Sony spent a staggering $3.6 billion to acquire the studio and they would have been expecting a pretty swift return on that investment, something which has not materialised.
"Regarding Destiny 2, partially due to changes in the competitive environment, the level of sales and user engagement have not reached the expectations we had at the time of the acquisition of Bungie, Inc," Tao explained.
To detail exactly what that means, the company also displayed a graph explaining that they believed the company had lost £155 million/$244 million in intangible asset losses.
That admittedly opaque phrase essentially refers to Bungie's overall value, taking into account estimates for intellectual property values as well as other fluid values like company reputation and public awareness.
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"For this time, [Destiny 2's] game performance did not reach the expectations we had when we acquired Bungie," Tao went on to say. "We still have some intangible assets, and the question of whether there is still any risk remaining or not, Marathon, which is going to be launched, and Destiny 2, if the performance [does not] reach what we expect. Of course, there is a risk of impairment loss, but we don't believe this will impact the whole game segment. At least at this point in time."
Whatever does happen with the franchise, it really is tough to see a positive way out for the beleaguered developer, regardless of whether they choose to go with a new game or not.