What started as a controversial decision to leave the Halo franchise, the ongoing massive success of Destiny 2 proves that Bungie was right to move on. Since becoming independent of Activision, Bungie has found popular and profitable success in a content cycle of one major expansion and four plentiful seasons a year. Though Sony has recently purchased Bungie, both companies have promised that Bungie will continue to have creative freedom for Destiny, something it did not have the most of under Activision. Meanwhile, under 343 Industries, the last three Halo games have seen a rollercoaster of success and criticism, with Halo Infinite witnessing a majority of the latter.
Recent news out of 343 Industries is that the next Halo Infinite season won't be out until March 2023, making players go through seven months of little content updates in a live service game. 343 Industries also announced it would have to break a promise by canceling Halo Infinite's local split-screen co-op campaign and delaying Forge mode into November. In contrast, Bungie used Gamescom to reveal the next big Destiny 2 expansion, Lightfall. Lightfall will be the second to last major expansion coming as part of what Bungie calls the darkness and light saga of Destiny.
Halo Infinite's poor performance since launch can be summed up perfectly with a tweet by YouTuber SkillUp: "Destiny 2 will have delivered two major expansions and four seasons worth of content in roughly the same amount of time it’s taken Halo Infinite to get Forge and cancel couch coop." The campaign of Halo Infinite was relatively well-liked, but it didn't live up to the high standards of the original trilogy. Multiplayer-wise, what began as flawed yet promising, has plummeted to not even being able to reach 10000 players on Steam and that is with the multiplayer being free to play. Overall, Halo Infinite is an exceptional game that's being held back. In comparison, Destiny 2 goes through its own ebbs and flows between content drops, but even at its lowest times, it still tends to have over 70,000 players on Steam.
Destiny 2: Where Bungie Goes, Success Follows
Destiny has been far from perfect over its run, but even with all its problems, it has succeeded more than 343's Halo. Fans of Bungie questioned the company's decision to move on to an entirely new IP, especially when giving up on a trilogy that redefined the shooter genre. For a time, those fans would have been correct, as both Destiny and Destiny 2 were released to a rocky start, but both games were able to keep a populace long enough to warrant more development. Destiny 2's Forsaken expansion was Bungie's turning point. Since then, the game has seen increasing success. In contrast, 343 saw two controversial campaigns in Halo 4 and Halo 5, and both games were likely more successful thanks to well-received multiplayer gameplay. However, this time it was the multiplayer side of the game that fell through, riddled with uncontested player cheating, bland customization with a deeply flawed battle pass, and an overall lack of content updates to keep players interested. Now with 343 Industries falling through on promises while having to delay new updates farther and farther back, the future for Halo Infinite is looking bleak.
Suffice it to say, Bungie made the correct decision to follow its heart and move on to the Destiny franchise, showcasing its strength as the developers of now two of the most popular franchises in gaming history. The future of Halo is now a significant concern to fans who have not had a complete game since Halo Reach, which was Bungie's last Halo game. 343 Industries is not giving up yet, evident by Halo Infinite Forge mode leaks, but the question now becomes whether it will even be worth saving. Unless some significant changes are made, the player numbers will likely continue to drop before season three rolls in next March. Meanwhile, Bungie and Destiny 2 will see another season (and the highly anticipated Lightfall expansion launch) before then, which will almost certainly further cement Bungie's decision and Destiny 2's success.
Source: SkillUp/Twitter