As hope dwindles over Marathon’s future, Bungie has revealed that it’s “not done with Destiny.” Promising “more stories to tell” and “new worlds to build,” it’s first working to restore all the removed content from Destiny 2. Confined to the Destiny Content Vault, these include old campaigns like The Red War, planets and even raids.
“We understand that removing these experiences had a lasting impact on player trust and enjoyment of Destiny. Destiny 2 is more than just the content itself. It is a place where players have built memories together, formed lasting friendships, and shared experiences that have stayed with them for years. We cannot change the decision we made, but we can acknowledge its impact and do the work to make it right by restoring these important parts of Destiny’s history.”
While this is a positive step, there’s a reason Bungie hasn’t attempted this before: It’s far from easy. “Bringing this content back is not as simple as restoring old files. Changes made to Destiny 2 since Beyond Light require us to update lighting, encounters, combatants, and other underlying systems. That work will take time, but it is necessary to ensure returning content meets the stability and gameplay standards of Destiny 2 today.”
Of course, the other big question is: Why? Monuments of Triumph was the last major content update for the looter shooter and was followed by mass layoffs that impacted the entire team. According to Bungie, “When we announced that Monuments of Triumph would be the final content update to Destiny 2, you responded in force. Your voices mattered, and the way you showed up made a real impact. You reminded everyone how much this world, its history, and its future still mean to you.”
“Destiny is foundational to Bungie’s future. We have more stories to tell, new worlds to build, but we have to do it right and give our teams the time they need to do justice to this amazing universe.
“All of this is to say, we are not done with Destiny.”
More details will be revealed in the coming months, including how exactly Bungie will begin the unvaulting process. Based on its wording, it certainly seems like the developer wants to continue supporting Destiny 2, though how that manifests (and whether it’s new content) remains to be seen. It’s also possible that it could opt to create a spin-off or something else set in the same universe, thus fulfilling the promise of “new stories” and “worlds.”
As for Marathon, the team is looking to create a “deeper survival experience” and evolve “beyond the genre constraints placed on it.” Of course, we already know about some of those plans, coming in December’s Symbiosis update, including an experimental Team Deathmatch mode, social space/firing range, and a dedicated PvE experience.
There will be more later this week on the shooter “future vision,” and if nothing else, it should tell us more about what to expect in October when Nightfall Refresh lands.
