You Need to Stop Asking for Destiny 3.

…What if you’re doing more harm than good?

I almost conceded.

There’s just something about a community of players whose passion burns brighter than the light their guardian wields, that had me ready to rally. Over 250,000 petition signatures later, and the community is still begging to have Destiny 3 greenlit by Sony.

While the sentiment is rather intoxicating, I aired on the side of not wanting Destiny 3 until Bungie’s upper leadership was shown the door. In my humble opinion, this is what will truly ensure that Destiny 3 doesn’t repeat the same mistakes as Destiny 2.

Now that we’re a few stages later in the grief process, the news of Destiny 2 shutting down almost seems to have lit the industry on fire completely. People are feuding left and right, Creators are actually treating their content as a tangible product and revoking consumer access, others are using their platform and risking everything to support the game they love. Whether it be the beloved looter-shooter genre, or the ever-growing extraction shooter genre.

But allow me to be a voice of reason in the midst of all the chaos. You still may not like what I have to say, but I feel compelled to say it now more than ever.

I think you should let Sony cook.

Right after the breaking news that transpired last week, many sources began popping up and treating Sony as the villain, saying that Bungie has tried to pitch Destiny sequels multiple times and has been turned away repeatedly by the publisher.

This infuriated fans of the franchise, who are actively ready to burn everything to the ground for the chance at having more of the universe they’ve partaken in for the last decade. Everyone is pointing a finger at someone, refusing to recognize any opposition.

Perhaps the most infuriating part of this all for me, being someone with a very small platform is that people with a much greater reach than me, are contributing to a narrative that was easy for me to recognize, yet hard to explain.

But I think I’ve found the words now. So, let’s put on our speculation helmets.

I saw a post from Destiny Bulletin, referencing an article from The Game Post, arguing that Bungie even had talks of releasing a continuation of Destiny 2, as Destiny Infinity. The title would be lined up with a single yearly expansion, like the good ol’ days. And even that wasn’t approved by Sony.

I had to ask myself… If a title mirroring Destiny Classic wouldn’t even be approved, what’s it going to take?

And then it hit me. I’ve been here before.

See, I currently work in corporate for my day job. I’m sure I’m not the only one, so let me ask those who also have or still do: Have you ever had a coworker or maybe even a manager that was under-performing so bad that they were bringing down the whole team?

Was that person fired outright?

Did you notice that your upper management became a lot stricter on them? Maybe they got written up for clocking back in from lunch a few minutes late. Or, they had projects moved away from them, so they could “focus on their main priorities”.

Have you watched your company de-prioritize an employee before cutting them lose entirely? Because, I think that’s what happening here.

Ascendant Nomad said it best. The upper echelons of the gaming industry are watching us toss spears and pitchforks at each other while they remain unscathed. My response to him felt like the only explanation as to why Sony won’t invest into perhaps the most successful IP they now have:

…Maybe I’m crazy. Perhaps the real psy-op will be the tease of Destiny 3 during Sony’s upcoming State of Play. Maybe this is all a ruse to get Destiny back on everyone’s mind via means of catharsis.

Or maybe Sony realizes the potential of Bungie, and Destiny, but won’t commit until there’s reassurance that history won’t repeat itself. Pete Parsons may have left Bungie, but his replacement is for many, the face of what it means to under-deliver time and time again. I’ll ask you once more: Do you really think Destiny 3 won’t re-hash every mistake made by Destiny 2 if we let the same people call the shots?

I think this civil war between us gamers is being artificially inflated.

Let’s recall Bungie’s specific wording from their initial announcement:

“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.”

But that’s not at all what happened. The final shape saw the highest player counts in all of Destiny's history:

It was Bungie’s marketing, combined with the reduction of seasonal content post Final Shape that gave the impression of Destiny 2 being over.

It almost feels like this wording was crafted specifically to give players hope at the chance for a continuation of Destiny, despite every project allegedly being turned down by Sony.

This announcement could have been a heartfelt goodbye from the team. I’m poised to think that’s not the case, because that’s too genuine for how the community, or should I say, consumers, have been treated over the last decade.

I’m of the impression that this was all designed to get players mad… So that over 250,000 people would petition Sony to greenlight Destiny 3; So that an influencer war would break out between those who left Destiny and those who continue to back it; So that the entire industry would be so shaken that all eyes would be on this feud;

So that Bungie leadership can continue to sit pretty and keep the cycle going.

So the question is: Are you going to let them? With all the damage that has been dealt between those who used to be friends, to those who riot for the thrill. Are you going to let all of your passion be siphoned away by those who only valued your wallet for years?

Or, are you going to take a chance on a new road, and allow the people who forced Destiny 2 into it’s coffin be forced out of Bungie, so that Destiny 3 has a shot at living up to your highest expectations?

I want more Destiny as much as all of you, but I cannot trust that this iteration of Bungie will deliver on the vision we all have for the next game. If you’re wanting to settle for what Bungie can commit to today, of course, you have my full support. Just, one more question for the road:

If Destiny 3, for the first time in its history, had the chance to over-deliver, at the cost of needing to wait longer for Bungie to get it together… Would you take the chance?