Destiny 2 was a pretty good game at launch, but once players had mowed through its content, just about everything the game had to offer became a little less compelling. Post-game content is weak, the first DLC did nothing to improve the game, and Bungie seems to be repeating mistakes it should already have learned from, while making a bunch of new ones in the process.
It’s turning away many of the game’s most ardent fans. Whatever the reasons for Destiny 2’s troubles, they’re very real – and they’re affecting Activision-Blizzard’s pockets. In an note to investors titled “Destiny is not in a Good Place,” analyst Doug Creutz said that the all-important player engagement is starting to crash.
“While Call of Duty: WWII clearly had a great holiday, which likely sets up strong franchise live services revenue in 2018, Destiny 2 is struggling right now with player engagement appearing to be on the wane,” Creutz said. “We are a bit cautious that potentially disappointing live service revenue there could at least partially offset upside from CoD in 2018,” he added.
Creutz outlines what he believes are four areas where bungie and Activision are failing its players:
- “Design decisions were made that have made D2 a less engaging, and less distinctive, game than D1. In particular, key aspects of the D2 end game feel neutered compared to D1.”
- “Microtransaction implementation, while not nearly as problematic as in Star Wars Battlefront 2, has still been a source of player unhappiness.”
- “Bungie’s [the studio that developed the game] apparent urgency in responding to player feedback has been disappointing.”
- “Until recently, Bungie did a poor job communicating its road map going forward, particularly compared to the more open stance of many other live service games.”
I can’t even disagree with that. Anecdotally, I’ve seen and heard of many Destiny players moving on to other games, because there’s just nothing compelling about the game anymore. While it is possible for Destiny 2 to get its engagement numbers back up, it’s going to take a frightful amount of work, and some changes to its core systems (and that blasted Eververse) to reverse the rapidly waning public opinion.
Last Updated: January 25, 2018
