Summary
Even though some believeDestiny 2is now suffering from a severe player base falloff, theDestinycommunity members themselves have sourced data that helps recontextualize the problem from a different point of view. It’s hardly a secret that Bungie’s AAA live-service experience is going through a rough patch at this time, but it may not be nearly as rough as some claim.
AsBungie pulls back from interacting with theDestiny 2community, the game is still dealing with the fallout from the criticizedLightfallDLC release and the further proliferation of microtransactions and additional monetization options that followed. That, combined with the community’s usual assortment of critique directed at the game’s balance and narrative has created a sense of unease, though it doesn’t seem to be too serious after all.
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Specifically, some people in theDestiny 2community seems to have taken issue with Forbes writer Paul Tassi’s assessment of how the release of theLightfallDLC affected the franchise’s current outlook. Tassi’s analysis of the matter was fairly broad and led to a negative conclusion, whileDestinycommunity member Merzats has posted a comprehensive analysis derived from SteamDB data that tracks seasonal player numbers on PC. Merzats' sheets are freely available for anyone to check out, and they plainly suggest that the year ofLightfallisn’t all that apocalyptic for the franchise after all.
Merzats' data was subsequently used by another Redditor, StrangelyOnPoint, to set up a full waterfall chart ofDestiny’s seasonal player base from the release of theDestiny 2ShadowkeepDLConwards. This provides an even better view of how the game’s PC player numbers change as the given year goes on. It seems that, even though the game is at a low point in the Season of the Deep, similar situations have happened in the past, unrelated to any other external factors.
Another thing worth considering here, of course, is that users only really have access toDestiny 2’s PC player data via SteamDB. In other words, the featured information does not referenceDestinyplayers on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Further, the information doesn’t considerDestiny 2Epic Games Store playerseither, as they are tracked completely separately from Steam.
Overall, the conclusion is that, even though things are somewhat rough forDestinyright now, they’re not necessarily all that much worse than they’ve been in the past. With thenextDestiny 2Raid coming in Season 22, odds are good that large batches of players will be coming back to see what’s up, and after that, the long-awaitedFinal ShapeDLC will be just a few seasons away too.
Destiny 2is currently available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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