Bungie is looking into the possibility of adding something like Halo’s 8 vs. 8 Big Team Battle PvP mode to Destiny 2. However, some technical issues make implementing a 16-player mode in Bungie’s FPS MMO difficult.

Destiny 2 might get a version of Halo’s Big Team Battle

Former host and current Destiny 2 weapons designer Mercules recently joined the 64th episode of the Firing Range Podcast. During the interview, the host asked him about the possibility of bringing Big Team Battle to Bungie’s MMO.

“So, we’re investigating it,” Mercules replied. “It is an ongoing active investigation at Bungie.”

However, some “really weird” technical issues crop up when that many players load into a single activity. “We want to make sure that we can make it happen in a way that ends up being fun and stable,” the Destiny 2 dev explained. “Like, the stable part is pretty important.”

The 16-player Big Team Battle mode first appeared in Halo 3 multiplayer and has been in every Halo game since. Given the overlap between Halo and Destiny 2 fans, many players would no doubt consider it a great addition.

It might also do something to recover lost players. Going by the game’s player numbers on Steam, Destiny 2 hit its all-time peak in February 2023 in anticipation of the Lightfall expansion. However, the year-long post-Lightfall dip has seen the lowest PC player numbers since its release. While console numbers are harder to come by, they likely follow a similar trend.

Hopefully, The Final Shape expansion will reinvigorate Destiny 2 when it arrives in June. Considering the upcoming expansion will reportedly overhaul the game’s core mechanics, it might be an excellent opportunity to implement the Halo-inspired mode.

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EA, BioWare, and Bungie are joining forces to bring a Mass Effect crossover to Destiny 2. The crossover is due to arrive next month and will include new free and premium cosmetics and other in-game items.

The Destiny 2 x Mass Effect crossover launches in February

The Mass Effect crossover will launch in Destiny 2 on February 13. All players can claim the free Alliance Requisitions Bundle, which includes the Enhanced Defense Ghost Shell, Alliance Scout Frigate ship, and Alliance Drop Ship Sparrow.

Meanwhile, the Normandy Crew Bundle will be available for purchase from the in-game Eververse store and will include a Commander Shepard-inspired N7 armor set for Titans, a Garrus-inspired Vakarian set for Hunters, and a Liara-inspired Shadow Broker set for Warlocks. There will also be an Omni Strike finisher and Flux Dance emote that can be purchased with the premium Silver currency.

Before the crossover launches, new content has arrived in Destiny 2 today, January 30. Running for six weeks until March 12, the Riven’s Wishes weekly quests will be available from Mara Sov and will have a high-risk objective in the Dreaming City. The reward for completing these is a token that can be redeemed for three categories of treasures. The Wish for Strength offers Last Wish raid Deepsight weapons, the Wish for Protection offers Exotic gear from Lightfall, and the Wish for Beauty offers event mementos and Ascendant crafting materials.

There are also the Moments of Triumph that will run until June 3. To prepare players for the upcoming The Final Shape expansion, the event offers a total of 30 Triumphs that “honor the past year” of Destiny 2. As well as in-game rewards, those who complete the MMXXIII Seal can purchase the Moments of Triumph shirt from the Bungie Store, while those who complete the Paracausal Adventurer Triumph can get an exclusive patch. Both of these are available via Bungie Rewards.

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Bungie developers are reportedly worried about the what the future holds for the company as its independent relationship to Sony comes into question.

According to a recent report from IGN, Bungie developers speaking under the condition of anonymity have described the mood within the studio as “soul-crushing” over the past month following a massive round of layoffs within the company. This includes worries that the company will soon be taken over by Sony.

In 2022, Sony officially completed its $3.7 billion acquisition of Bungie and said at the time that Bungie would remain fully independent in how it runs things. However, IGN’s report notes that various employees were told that the current board at Bungie — which is split between Sony and Bungie representatives — is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals.

Should those goals not be met, sources within Bungie told IGN that Sony would be allowed to “dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company.”

Bungie developers fear more layoffs may also occur

Fears of a potential takeover are what many at the company believe led to Bungie’s massive round of layoffs earlier this year. Despite the move, employees remain frustrated and angry that more layoffs could come in the future.

As one anonymous developer said, Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion The Final Shape — which was recently delayed further into 2024 — is a big deal for the company, and one that, if not successful, could mean more layoffs.

“We know we need Final Shape to do well,” one source told IGN. “And the feeling at the studio is that if it doesn’t we’re definitely looking at more layoffs.”

When it came to the layoffs, developers also said that they felt “discouraged” from even discussing them. Another developer said that, during a post-layoff Q&A session with department heads, leadership was asked if they had considered taking salary cuts to stop layoffs from happening, to which they were told that Bungie was “not that type of company.”

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Destiny 2 has run into yet another controversy after Bungie released a $15 “Starter Pack” with an embarrassing assortment of in-game items. The backlash was swift, prompting yet another apology from the developer, who has now pulled the Starter Pack from stores altogether.

Destiny 2 microtransactions controversy comes amid dwindling player base

Bungie offered the Starter Pack — which includes three exotics, three cosmetics, and some materials — as a way to onboard new players. However, Destiny 2 players have pointed out that the entire pack is useless, and players can simply earn the materials offered in no time by playing the game.

“We’ve heard your concerns and agreed that there are other parts of Destiny 2 that new players should want to dive into first,” Bungie wrote in its mea culpa, announcing that it has now removed the Starter Pack. But it was a bizarre decision to begin with, considering the studio has admitted that Destiny 2 has hit a rough patch with a dwindling player base yet continues to make decisions that further dampen the experience.

In other Destiny 2 news, Bungie has delayed The Final Shape following a large number of layoffs. The studio also admitted that it had lost players’ trust.

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Bungie has officially announced a Destiny 2: The Final Shape delay, revealing that the expansion planned for February won’t be arriving until later in 2024.

In a recent tweet from the official Destiny 2 Twitter account, Bungie announced that The Final Shape would be delayed from its original release of February 27, 2024, until later in the year, with a new release date set for June 4, 2024. The reason for the delay, according to Bungie, is for the development to create “an even bigger and bolder vision” for the expansion.

“The Final Shape is the culmination of the first ten years of Destiny storytelling and, for Guardians everywhere, countless hours spent together,” the development team wrote in a blog post. “We want to honor that journey, so we’re taking the time we need to deliver an even bigger and bolder vision, one that we hope will be remembered and treasured for years to come.”

The confirmation comes following reports from Bloomberg that Bungie would be delaying a litany of its work amidst its recent round of layoffs, which saw the company reduce its staff by nearly 10%.

Bungie outlines content plan through June 2024

In the meantime, Bungie will continue to work on content for the next seven months of Destiny 2. In a brief video from game director Joe Blackburn, the studio detailed what fans can expect in between now and the eventual release of The Final Shape.

Beginning next month, a new dungeon, Warlord’s Ruin, will be added into the game, and once the Season of the Wish story concludes in February, new weekly story events called “Wishes” will begin being added into the game.

Around April, according to Blackburn, Bungie will begin detailing what to expect from The Final Shape, and a new update called Destiny 2: Into the Light will also release, with content set to release over April and May that Blackburn says will include unique rewards for both hardcore and returning fans.

Finally, in May, Bungie will release a new map pack containing three maps into the game. The following month will then see The Final Shape release.

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Bungie has written a new blog post addressing player feedback and outlining its path forward for Destiny 2 following what has been a turbulent few months at the storied studio. The post comes just days after massive layoffs at Bungie left numerous employees from across the company scrambling to find new work.

Bungie says it’s lost the trust of Destiny 2 players

In a new blog post on Bungie’s website, the Destiny 2 development team has shared its sadness at the departure of so many colleagues, though the recent layoffs aren’t directly mentioned, and outlined a new vision for the game moving forward. Acknowledging the concerns many players have expressed about Destiny 2’s seasonal content and the game’s Lightfall expansion, the development team states, “We know we have lost a lot of your trust.” The post goes on to claim that Bungie hasn’t done enough in recent times to “surprise and delight” fans of the game, with the Destiny 2 team promising to rectify that before the release of The Final Shape in June 2024.

Vowing to make The Final Shape into one of the studio’s best games to date, the post notes that there are currently over 650 people working on the recently delayed expansion. Though the post presents a positive picture of the future of Destiny 2, little was revealed about how exactly Bungie plans to revitalize the underperforming looter shooter. More details about the studio’s “bigger, bolder, and brighter vision for The Final Shape” will reportedly be revealed following the launch of the next Season in November. Destiny 2 is losing players, according to current and former employees, and the recent round of layoffs could potentially spell trouble for The Final Shape despite the developers’ optimism.

Between mass layoffs at the company and a lukewarm reaction by players to recent content added to Destiny 2, 2023 has proven to be a tough year for Bungie. Like its acknowledgment from earlier this year that Destiny 2’s approach to PvP maps isn’t working, this new blog post shows that Bungie is aware of its shortcomings and is working to fix them. Whether the studio can make the needed changes and get back on track before the reported release of Bungie’s new IP in 2025, though, is still unclear.

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Amidst a big round of sudden layoffs, Bungie has admitted that Destiny 2 is underperforming and is losing players. Yesterday, a number of long-time employees expressed their shock over their forced departures and revealed that they were told Destiny 2’s dwindling player count was the main reason behind the cost-cutting exercise.

Destiny 2 devs reportedly begged to make changes to win players back

IGN and Bloomberg spoke to a number of current and former employees, who revealed that they saw the writing on the wall and “begged” Bungie’s management to make certain changes to win Destiny 2 players back. The game has been sharply criticized over its handling of paid content and updates, so this revelation doesn’t come as a shock to players.

Some quickly blamed parent company Sony — who has been shedding staff at various PlayStation Studios — for the layoffs, but Bungie sources have told publications that SIE was not involved in these cuts.

Meanwhile, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has come under fire for what many say is a tone deaf Twitter statement about the layoffs. Parsons said it was a “sad day” at Bungie as the company said goodbye to “exceptional individuals,” with people reminding him that this all falls on him.

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Bungie‘s upcoming titles Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have been delayed amidst the developer’s layoffs.

Anonymous insiders at Bungie informed Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier that both games had recently suffered delays. The Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, initially had a release window set for February 2024. The developer pushed it back until June. Bungie’s next game in the pipeline, Marathon, will now release sometime in 2025.

The Final Shape is the next major expansion for Destiny 2. According to Bungie’s reveals in August, The Final Shape concludes Destiny 2’s decade-long Light and Dark saga. Additionally, the expansion adds a new destination, The Pale Heart, located in the Traveler. The Pale Heart will contain references to previous Destiny 2 locations. The Final Shape also features new Super Abilities and Aspects.

Bungie’s other title, Marathon, remains a largely mysterious entity. The extraction shooter reportedly employs a timed oxygen system that players regulate. According to the same report, the system uses replaceable oxygen canisters players must purchase or find around the locations in Tau Ceti, Marathon’s setting. The report also claimed that the developer planned to make Marathon the “ultimate live service.”

Bungie Hit With Layoffs

The news comes as employees confirm multiple layoffs at Bungie. It remains unclear how many and from what departments the firings occurred. According to Schreier’s reporting, an email to staff members from Bungie Chief Executive Officer Pete Parsons announced a meeting with remaining employees to “discuss today’s events.” Neither Bungie nor Sony or PlayStation released a statement about the situation at the time of writing.

Bungie joins a long list of companies in the game industry to suffer layoffs in 2023. Other PlayStation studios also confirmed firings in October. PlayStation studios Visual Arts Group and Media Molecule reported multiple layoffs just in the last week. In September, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog confirmed it had let go of several contractors.

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Bungie has become the latest studio hit with massive layoffs in a rough year for the gaming industry. According to multiple employees and industry insiders, PlayStation studio Bungie fired multiple employees today. The full scope of the layoffs is yet to be determined.

The Bungie layoffs come just weeks after fellow PlayStation studio Naughty Dog let go of multiple contractors. In the last week, PlayStation studios Visual Arts Group and Media Molecule also had numerous firings. In the case of Bungie, the company had only been part of PlayStation since 2022.

Bungie Employees Confirm Layoffs

Liana Ruppert, the now former Destiny 2 Community Manager and Co-Lead of Accessibility at Bungie, confirmed her firing on X, formerly Twitter.

“Well… my heart is breaking for all affected[.] I am now looking for opportunities,” she said. “I’m processing, I’m so heartbroken. I don’t know what to do from here… this was my home. I feel so lost[.]”

Amanda R., who worked as a Technical Recruitment Lead at Bungie, posted to LinkedIn about her firing. “It’s a strange feeling to wake up in the morning excited for the week ahead, only for your day to begin learning that you’ve been hit with a Reduction in Force and are now on the job hunt,” she said. “I really loved my time at Bungie and in the gaming industry. I met some great people, learned a lot, and truly thought I found a home for the rest of my career.”

Dozens of game studios have suffered massive layoffs in 2023. Major studios like Ubisoft, BioWare, CD Projekt Red, Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Embracer Group, Bethesda Game Studios, and Gearbox Publishing have contributed to the thousands of lost jobs in the industry this year. Unity suffered the most significant layoffs, with 900 firings reported in 2023.

Neither Bungie nor PlayStation have publicly commented on the layoffs at the time of writing.

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In the latest instance of a high-profile gaming studio being accused of creating a hostile working environment for employees, Bungie is now being sued for wrongful termination by a former HR manager after allegations of racial bias at the company. News of the allegations against the Destiny 2 developer comes just months after Bungie won a landmark lawsuit against a racist Destiny player who harassed the company’s employees and their families.

Bungie’s former HR manager alleges she was wrongfully terminated after reporting racial bias at the developer

As initially reported by IGN, Bungie is being sued by a former HR manager over charges of retaliation and wrongful termination.

Ingrid Alm, who was hired by Bungie as an HR manager in 2022, is accusing the company of terminating her employment after she recommended a supervisor receive diversity training. Alm’s recommendation came after the one black employee on the supervisor’s 50-person team, referred to as “James Smith” in the lawsuit, expressed concerns that he was being racially targeted.

Alm claims that she faced “hostility and denial” from her managers at the Destiny 2 developer after issuing the recommendation.   

Already facing pushback for her recommendation, Alm’s lawsuit alleges that she was subject to further hostility after reaching out to Bungie’s director of equity and inclusion, Dr. Courtney Benjamin.

Alm’s lawsuit states that her supervisor retaliated against her for reaching out to Benjamin, giving Alm a written warning and moving her to the “needs improvement” category on her next performance review. After a supervisor suggested she should leave the company, Alm’s access to her work e-mail and Bungie’s internal network was cut off. She was eventually told that her resignation, which Alm claims she never submitted, had been accepted.

According to the IGN report, Bungie’s response to the lawsuit “denies almost every part of Alm’s narrative without further context.” A jury trial is set for January 22, 2024 to determine whether Alm is owed the lost wages, emotional distress damages, and attorney fees she is seeking in the case.

Bungie is far from the only developer to be accused of creating a hostile work environment in recent years. News of the allegations against Bungie comes the same week as five former Ubisoft executives were arrested on charges of harassment and sexual assault.

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