Destiny 2 needs a new Witness if it hopes to recover in 2025

Destiny 2 has faced its fair share of upheavals over the last seven years, and that’s exactly what the game needs more of if it wants to survive for seven more.

Bungie’s looter shooter isn’t in the best spot heading into 2025, and considering the ups and downs of the past 12 months, it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly why its population has hit record lows.

Mass layoffs, technical issues, and a general air of apathy and disinterest attached to the first two of three Episodes following The Final Shape’s huge critical and commercial success are absolutely contributors.

With traditional annual expansions no longer on the cards, Bungie has promised more content in the form of Codename Frontiers.

However, this hasn’t allayed fears from fans and content creators that the sci-fi franchise is headed for some form of soft retirement (dire the numbers may be, but for now, Destiny 2 is far from in danger of Sony deciding to pull the plug for good).

Witnessing the problem

The Final Shape provided a satisfying conclusion to Destiny’s overarching Light vs. Dark narrative, but it’s now suffering from the MCU effect. Like Thanos, The Witness has left behind a power vacuum with its defeat.

Episodes – Seasons in all but name with a tired, predictable content model – have attempted to account for this, but they feel like little more than villain-of-the-week side hustles to keep Guardians occupied while Bungie fine-tunes whatever multi-year saga comes next.

The result is that Destiny 2’s remaining population has been placed in a waiting room, unsure of when its collective name is going to be called to any meaningful action.

Even if a suitable replacement ultimately threatens the Sol system’s survival, there’s no guarantee that Frontiers will solve the other half of the problem.

Fixing the treadmill

Destiny 3 isn’t happening. At least not in a timeframe where it would alleviate any immediate negative perception. Outside talk of nonlinear campaigns and a new approach to storytelling, everything we know about Frontiers so far paints a familiar picture.

More seasonal activities, more loot, more endgame Raids and Dungeons. These will generate interest and a surge – big or small remains to be seen – in player numbers, but once the honeymoon period wears off, as it always does, what remains will be the same status quo and accompanying population decline.

The loot chase at Destiny 2’s core has grown insufferably stale and unrewarding while its accompanying components have leaned ever further into MMO territory. Rather than take the blame for that shortcoming, weapon crafting‘s only fault is exposing the unrewarding nature of chasing random rolls.

Exotics and Legendaries aren’t special anymore. They feed an economy rather than encourage players to actually test their worth in the field. The promise of finding that perfect perk combo with enough time invested just isn’t the squeaky clean treadmill it once was.

The two systems can co-exist, but if Destiny 2 continues its path of pursuing an MMO audience, loot needs to be included in that discussion.

Super rare drops – a new rarity above Exotic has been a long time coming – the means of showing off your finds to other players with vanity spaces such as customizable ships or clan quarters, and, above all else, player trading, are crucial.

Operating on a reduced workforce as it is, Bungie’s ability to deliver the fundamental changes Destiny 2 sorely needs is questionable, and evolve to survive couldn’t be more true in this case. So much of the game’s foundation is ancient – by video game standards – and in desperate need of review.