Destiny 2 has had a rough release. Coming too soon after Destiny or maybe a mistake altogether, the sequel to one of the most popular loot-shooters ever has had a turbulent time, to say the least. The latest expansion, Shadowkeep, has a renewed focus on seasons and on driving the story forward which seems to be the result of a reinvigorated Bungie.
Now, without Activision publishing Destiny, things look to be improving.
During PAX Australia, I sat down with Design Director Victoria Dollbaum to talk all things Shadowkeep, Destiny 2 and the future for Bungie.
Destiny 2 Launch
I’ve been playing Shadowkeep a lot since it was released so I asked Dollbaum about the expansion, how long it has been planned for and how it changes Destiny 2 so drastically.
To my surprise, Dollbaum was incredibly candid and told me that, “After Destiny 2 launched, we weren’t totally happy with where the game was.” She explained that the changes that Shadowkeep makes to Destiny 2 aren’t really specific to the expansion but that Bungie has been “on the road to changing things and analysing the stuff that we’ve made.”
For Dollbaum, Shadowkeep represents the beginnings of where Bungie wants to drive Destiny.
Shadowkeep is a good representation of like where we see Destiny going in the future.
We’re, we’re trying to break down the barriers for players to play and we’re working on having Destiny become an evolving world.
We want you to jump right in at the current moment and understand where you are and to say, I’m living at this moment in Destiny time and I’m gonna move forward with the future.
Alongside Shadowkeep, Bungie has a renewed focus on Seasons which are designed to keep players busy and to introduce a new activity to complete each day/week. Dollbaum explains that the seasonal activities, like the Vex Offensive, are designed to be a new part of players’ ritual.
Seasonal activities direct players to the latest and greatest activity while also doing the loop of normal weekly or daily rituals.
Dollbaum also told me that the story of Destiny is really going to be told through the seasons now and that players will be the actors, acting out the story. “Players are going to interact with Ikora and solve the mystery of the Vex,” she said, adding “players need to figure out how to stem the tide of the Vex.
“The stuff that Ikora’s building behind her feeds into that thread of the narrative and will lead into the next season and the things we’ll be doing next season.”
Things are certainly looking up for Destiny 2 and it’s come a long way from launch. Hopefully, Bungie is happy with it now and continues to improve it going forward.
Destiny 2 Shadowkeep is now available.
