Bungie has “no plans” to ditch Destiny 2 after ‘Lightfall’ expansion

Destiny 2 will live on ⁠— Bungie has confirmed they’re in it for the long haul when it comes to their epic space franchise, with plans to release more expansions after 2023 offering “Lightfall” already being inked in their long-term strategy.

A possible “Destiny 3” has loomed for some time now.

Back when Bungie was still being led by Activision Blizzard ⁠— pre-2019 split, that is ⁠— a trilogy sequel seemed all but confirmed. The iconic Call of Duty publishers have always leaned into annual releases, and Destiny appeared to be all set for the same game plan. Basically, “Destiny 3” was a foregone conclusion for Bungie’s space franchise, whether fans liked it or not.

Now, Bungie states, those plans have been binned, permanently.

We already knew that a Destiny 2 sequel had been shelved, but many loyal Guardians were still quietly expecting some shift to a third major title in the next few years, pending a big Bungie announcement.

Bungie’s new stance, it seems, is to emphatically quash those expectations; design director Jacob Benton has poured cold water over any suggestions Destiny 3 ⁠— or any title like it ⁠— is in the works at the Washington studio.

There are “no plans,” he said, to leave the ‘Destiny 2’ title behind.

Benton admitted in a recent 4gamer.net interview (translated from Japanese) that the Destiny 2 development team had “learned a lot in the last few years” about the direction of their live franchise beyond its announced expansions.

“I am very much looking forward to the future,” the design director said. “You can rest assured, we have no plans to stop making great content for Destiny 2.”

“I don’t think it’s the right direction to bring [the series] to Destiny 3.

“Players are also spending time, effort, and their emotions on Destiny 2, their Guardians, and the story. We don’t want to lose their experience by resetting [the franchise]. We will continue to develop Destiny 2.”

The plan, he said, is to add “another chapter that depicts the storyline after Lightfall (called ‘The End of Light’ in the interview)”. This secret new expansion, which is already being worked on, will also be released in the current title.

• Read More: Destiny 2 finds storytelling groove in Season of the Chosen

Expect the unnamed ‘secret’ expansion to be released in 2024. “The Witch Queen” has already been delayed until 2022, and Lightfall is penned in for 2023.

At this stage, this Dexerto writer is onboard with Bungie’s plans too.

I’m certainly happy to stick to my guns that “The Witch Queen” expansion will be a pivotal moment for the Destiny franchise, but the devs seem to have the next half-decade of storylines and content planned out at this stage; something we’ve rarely seen in the series before, if ever.

Most importantly, however, Bungie has finally begun delivering on their post-Activision promises, especially in Season of the Chosen. Guardians across the Destiny 2 community have given the latest season the green light — a rare occurrence for the fandom — in part due to its live storytelling.

• Read More: Destiny 2 just keeps nerfing new Stasis abilities

If Bungie can keep that up into The Witch Queen, and beyond, there’s no reason to force a “Destiny 3 reset” for the franchise any time soon.