The death of Destiny 2 is the end of the live service gaming era

How painful it is to hear Fate 2'with the developer days are over and while Bungie planned to keep the game alive for as long as possible, the chances of meaningful new content have now dropped to zero. It feels like the end of an era, and as someone who would regularly jump back in whenever a new expansion dropped, I'm more surprised by this decision, but I'm still glad we'll be able to continue playing, at least until Bungie decides to shut everything down for good.

The announcement may have been unexpected, but it certainly didn't come out of the blue. It has become very clear over the years that live service games are struggling to achieve the same reach and staying power as they once did. With such a big name now pulling out alongside many others, we could be entering a new age for the world of live service gaming, one with very different priorities, challenges and hopefully plenty of new solutions.

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What this means for Bungie

where do we go from here?

• It moves to Marathon is a top priority.

• Potential for new upcoming projects.

Bungie has made it very clear that their work on Fate 2 is coming to a halt, except for one final update that will send the game into its eternal sunset. However, Sony only acquired the developer in 2022 for a small sum of several billion dollars, and it is clear that they still want to keep at least part of the team. While Halo is very much in Xbox's arms, Bungie's next steps will be very important to the developer's future.

The obvious shift is to Marathonwhich has already carved out a nice niche for itself in the pop-up shooter space. I could definitely see the universe expanding into a full single player game or even another MMO-like multiplayer title. The alternative is that the focus shifts to the new game v Fate universe, although it was noted that many ideas failed to make it past the drawing board. If that's not possible, I personally think it would be nice to see something completely new from Bungie, away from sci-fi and into new ground, to hopefully reclaim their place on the FPS throne in live services.

Even the biggest names can die

No IP is too big

• It proves that seemingly stable games can be left behind.

• Future plans can be uncertain.

Fate 2 it's been around for less than a decade and in that time we've seen so many DLCs and updates constantly adding content to the game every few months. This model has proven quite successful, and many others, and I would see new additions as a way to rekindle the flame, at least for a little while. Despite how big the franchise was, the wins didn't seem to hit the mark.

This cycle has played out for many other live service games since Anthem on Marvel's Avengersyet for such an influential title as it is Fate 2 join that club, I can't help but feel like it's too soon. Yes, the number of players slowly declined over time, but I still think the ability to attract tens of thousands of players every month, up to 100k during the DLC drop, showed that there was a hunger for more content. The decision to shut things down feels more like a knee-jerk reaction than a logical one.

It makes room for newer names

The players have to go somewhere

• Other similar games are still doing well.

• Attention moves with trends.

The MMO space has never been completely empty, but over time more shooters have emerged and found an audience that previously craved an immersive gaming experience. Games like War frame and Division they were released and developed alongside Bungie's FPS MMOs and achieved a reasonable level of success that allowed them to stay online with a steady stream of content and even sequels, despite strong competition.

MMO players often like to switch titles because once they grind all the raids or mine their characters, the motivation to continue playing is greatly reduced. I can attest to this trend too as I always log in for a week or so during a new patch and then move on once all the content is clear. Now that there's one less piece of content on the way, many of these other games may see a surge in popularity, and if the next developer is brave enough, I could definitely see a new IP joining the list.

The model no longer works

The hate for live service is real

• Many people despise current live service models.

• Real cases of catastrophic failure.

It's no secret that live service games aren't everyone's cup of tea. If you look at just the last few years, we've seen Concord, High Guardianand XDefiant come and go, all of which were PvP titles that didn't have enough staying power or polish to compete in an already saturated market.

I'm not the only one who dreads the introduction, because whenever a new multiplayer game is announced, I can't help but compare it to all the other failures that have plagued the industry for so long. I hope as a result of such a big name Fate 2 By leaving the live service pipeline behind, many future games will take notice and hopefully opt for a more sustainable model that can keep things alive for longer, and possibly indefinitely.

The future of destiny

Will we ever get a third game?

• There is no word yet on the triple combination.

• Active development seems unlikely at best.

I was there when the first trailers for Fate 2 dropped and as a huge fan of the original I was really excited to see where the franchise would go next. Now, when it came to their monetization model, I wasn't exactly a big fan. The concept of having to drop $40 every few months was far from ideal, but I was still happy to have some extra content, at least until the third game launched.

The gap between the first two games was only three years, and then the sequel received a steady stream of DLC that continued until 2025. Questions about the third game they always floated around and I always found it weird myself that we never got a Fate 3but based on everything that has been discussed internally I think the chances are very slim. That being said, I would never say never. While the focus may be away from the next big-budget release, the door for a third Fate it remains partially open for now.

Released

August 28, 2017

ESRB

T for TEEN for blood, language and violence