Destiny wasn't a failure, it was one of modern gaming's greatest triumphs

Fate has been the target of many jokes over the years, and for good reason. Bungie has made a lot of stupid decisions, from clumsily rolling out character customization changes to botched launches of entire expansions. But despite these missteps, hardcore fans always stuck around because they knew the highest of heights was worth it.

While I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer these days, I've played through all the campaigns and expansions over the years, and I've probably logged several hundred hours into Destiny since it first released in 2014. I've come around and consider myself a fairly experienced player of one of the greatest first-person shooters in history. This statement may sound like an exaggeration, but I say it sincerely and hope that its unfortunate conclusion does not cloud Destiny's legacy in unfair assumptions.

After Destiny was revealed to the world over a decade ago, many believed it was destined to be the biggest game in the world, and I think it has delivered on that promise and then some several times throughout its history. But nothing can last forever, especially when the studio that brought it to life acquires a company that seems forced to make bad decision after bad decision. So, as the development team is fired and split up, I want to take a quick look back at Destiny's long history and why it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Destiny is still the best shooter on the market

When Destiny was first announced, I knew it was going to be incredible to play. Bungie has spent the last decade redefining console shooters with the Halo franchise, leaving the titan behind after pushing the formula as far as it could go. He hoped to do something more ambitious with his next game, involving more weapons, more abilities, or a world rich with stories and characters to meet.

I remember pouring hours into both the alpha and beta tests before university and seeing the potential early on, grinning like crazy whenever I landed a perfect shot on an oncoming Fallen. Gunfights in Destiny have always been top notch, and no competitor outside of Titanfall has ever come close to how amazing they are to play.

And its gameplay has only gotten better with each new expansion, whether Bungie has introduced new weapon types, simplified the feel of switching between gear, or just made the act of equipping armor and building your collection truly meaningful. This is a key part of Destiny that keeps players coming back, even though countless competitors have tried and failed to replicate its innovative gear system.

Nothing will ever beat the increasing light levels slowly but surely as we prepare to raid knowing we will still be ready to fight for our lives. From a gameplay standpoint, Destiny is a unique shooter that I doubt will ever be surpassed.

Even though the first Destiny flopped and was rightly criticized for its nonsensical story and characters, the gameplay was still praised as one of the best. You can freely jump through perfectly designed areas and fight enemies big and small who give as good as they get, and over time the level design has been refined more and more to meet the demands of the players.

What I like most about Destiny is that the relatively straightforward nature of story missions, strikes, and dungeons is followed by raids that tell the player absolutely nothing. You have to figure it out yourself. Spending hours on a newly canceled raid and reaching the end with a group of friends is an amazing feeling, and much more than a traditional MMORPG.

Bungie has never been afraid to learn from fatal failures

Now that Destiny has received its final live service update and most of the talent involved in bringing it to life over the years has been let go, I fear that people will soon be calling the game a failure. It didn't have what it took to stick around in the landscape now dominated by Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty, despite the massive talent behind it.

While I'd love for Bungie to be more reactive and survive, it's also not the type of game that can survive on licensed crossovers and instead needs to constantly build its own world. It tried with Star Wars and it just didn't work, while Sony is unwilling to spend the time or money needed to make a full sequel a reality.

But to say that Destiny has never learned from its failures or listened to its fans to stay afloat is an outright lie. For a long time – especially after the launch of Taken King and well into the lifespan of Destiny – it was one of the biggest online games in the world.

Destiny 2 The Final Shape Cover Art with all the main characters overlaid on a space themed background

People signed up to see what Xur was selling each week, while the updates leading up to each new expansion kept people like me hooked, waiting to see the saga of Light and Darkness finally come to an end. Each new expansion was a huge deal, breaking player records as Destiny was put back on the map. When The Witch Queen arrived, it was probably a bigger deal than ever. Now, just a few years later, he is gone.

As both a fan and a critic, it was fun to watch the decision-making logic Bungie used to try to listen to fans and please their corporate overlords. The first game was forced to push out lackluster expansions that didn't make it until Taken King, though the potential was always there. Then it had a brief period of independence, all before Sony came along and slowly but surely pushed Destiny into the ground.

Once The Final Shape launched and brought an end to the decades-long saga, I think both Bungie and Sony were trying to figure out what shape Destiny could take moving forward. Small updates for a light but passionate audience were no longer enough, while the overall value of the original acquisition was vastly overstated and everyone suffered for it.

Sadly, things couldn't have continued as they were without major investment that Sony wasn't prepared to provide, and here we are. With Marathon already becoming public enemy number one for being a live-action shooter released by Sony, I fear that Destiny is being thrown into the same camp when the stigma attached to the genre is long gone.

Now, as Destiny fades from the modern gaming consciousness and is remembered as another casualty of the current environment, I want us to remember how many times they sat on top of the world and helped innovate both the shooter and survival genres with creative mechanical ideas, unparalleled combat, and a visual identity that has never been matched to this day. It wasn't a failure, time just ran out and Bungie has no choice but to move on.