Bungie have announced that they are putting together the final update for Destiny 2, bringing to an end the live service shooters 12-year run. The game itself will continue to exist for players to replay the content that already exists but nothing new will be added.
Behind the announcement, as told to Bloomberg by their sources, is the news that Bungie face “significant” layoffs as soon as the update is out the door.
Bungie made the announcement in a statement on the Destiny blog:
For almost twelve years, we have had the joy and honor to explore the Destiny universe with you all. Through all the ups and downs, surprises and triumphs, building Destiny alongside our players has been a monumental privilege. While our love for Destiny 2 has not changed, it has become clear that after The Final Shape, we have reached the time for our shared worlds, and Destiny, to live beyond Destiny 2.
As our focus turns towards a new beginning for Bungie, we will begin work incubating our next games. To that end, on June 9, 2026, we will release the final live-service content update for Destiny 2 to begin that new journey as a studio.
Though active development may be concluding, we will ensure that Destiny 2 remains playable, just as the original Destiny is today. Many changes in this final update will aim to ensure that Destiny 2 is a welcoming place for players to return to.
We’re proud of Destiny 2, the places it took us, and the legacy it has created. Because of you all, our universe is vast, built on years of shared stories, adventures, and victories. From the Cosmodrome to the Pale Heart to the Lawless Frontier, we have forged life-long memories and friendships with you all.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who made that journey with us.
From the deepest part of our hearts, thank you, and we’ll see you in the stars.
The final update, Monument of Triumph, is an expansion of the Moments of Triumph events Bunge have run in Destiny each year since the games launch. Normally the events only pull from the previous year, but Monument of Triumph will reach back to the entire game’s lifespan.
There will be more details to come, but the update will also feature slices of content that was planned for the upcoming Shadowand Order expansion. That includes new story beats, bosses, and abilities for the different classes, there will also be an overhaul of raid weapons and armour, new game modes for Crucible, and a new rewards pass.
Just as recently as February, Bungie planned to continue Destiny 2. The team were working on the next expansion, Shadow and Order. Though it had been delayed to make large revisions. This likely didn’t sit well with Sony who have reportedly been pushing Bungie to release smaller updates to Destiny 2 more frequently. Unlike other live service games, which see frequent smaller updates, Bungie focused on large annual expansions. They admitted that players would come, play through everything new on offer, and then skedaddle until the next content drop. The most recent expansion, The Final Shape, wrapped up the main storylines Bungie had been developing over the previous decade, and that gave players a good excuse to leave Destiny 2 behind.
Though it can’t have helped that since being acquired by Sony back in 2022, Bungie have faced rounds after round of layoffs. The most brutal of which saw 220 staff let go in a single day.
According to Bloomberg, while Bungie say they plan to “begin work incubating [their] next games”, they don’t currently have any ready to go into production and no projects have been greenlit. As a result, Sony are planning a “significant number of layoffs”, though Bloomberg doesn’t report how many people that may be.
After acquiring Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, it has been shocking to see how fast and hard the cuts at the studio have come. Despite that, the team managed to release an expansion that capped off a decade long story in Destiny and launched an excellent extraction shooter in Marathon. To be rewarded with further layoffs is deeply saddening.
