Destiny 2 is navigating a challenging year, marked by the disappointing reception of its latest expansion and a gradual decline in its player base. The Lightfall expansion, released in February, received lukewarm reception at best, causing the studio to fall short of its revenue targets by a massive 45%.
As a result, Bungie was forced to lay off around 8% of its staff.
Now, Destiny 2 is witnessing a concerning drop in its player numbers. According to SteamDB figures, the average player count over the last 30 days has dipped to just over 35,000, reaching a peak of 59,000. Both metrics represent all-time lows since the game’s Steam release in October 2019.
To underscore the impact of the Lightfall expansion, Destiny 2 experienced a peak average player count of 135,000 in March, shortly after the expansion’s release. The player count reached its peak for the year at 316,000 during the Lightfall launch, setting a record since Destiny 2’s Steam debut. However, over subsequent months, the game has seen a loss of over 100,000 players based on the average count.
While Steam is the only platform sharing player numbers, the situation is presumed to be challenging across other platforms, including Xbox and PlayStation. For all we know, the situation on consoles may be much bleaker for Destiny 2.
The reported delay of The Final Shape, the conclusion of the “Light and Darkness Saga,” adds to the strain on Destiny 2. Bungie may need to extend the current season, further impacting the game’s dwindling player numbers as they await the release of the next expansion.
The Final Shape is scheduled for release on February 27, according to a recent press statement by Bungie. However, insiders doubt that the latest expansion will arrive on time. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier responded to the statement, saying, “Don’t get your hopes up.
Don't get your hopes up
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 14, 2023
The outlook for Destiny 2 doesn’t look good based on the player numbers. There has to be drastic change within Bungie and Destiny 2 in order for the game to survive in the long-term. As it stands, The Final Shape may be quite literal, if the studio doesn’t find a solution to the dwindling player numbers. For now, we can only hope that Bungie has some sort of master plan to win back players.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape launches on February 27, 2024. Maybe.
