This is the fastest drop in engagement Destiny has ever seen. For a game with this many screwups in its history, that actually means something.
They gutted a solid system just to force more engagement metrics for the cash shop, and it’s blown up in their faces. This isn’t game design anymore. It’s punishment-based retention, and players aren’t sticking around for it.
Who could’ve seen this coming?
Multiplying the grind ten or twenty times?
Killing off earned gear and forcing featured items and exotics?
Hiding former BIS loot behind a maze of hoops?
Adding near-permanent power disadvantages in PvP?
Throttling dopamine so hard that the cash shop is the only real hit?
Yeah. People bailed. What a surprise.
The devs probably saw this coming too, but let’s be honest. This has "maintenance-mode executive" written all over it. They’ve already decided Destiny’s on the way out. Now it’s just about squeezing what’s left from whoever hasn’t walked yet.
And with numbers like these, the end is already in motion. This is what it looks like when short-term thinking kills a franchise.
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Just to be fair—we all want to be fair; huh!? What you say about Destiny 2 and the release of "Edge of Fate" is true, but the numbers are increasing. For example, on Steam. Monday, July 14, 2025—42,767 players—Sunday, August 03, 2025—67,194 players. Here's the link: [url=https://steamdb.info/app/1085660/charts/#1m]Steam Charts Destiny 2[/url] The recommendations for the "Edge of Fate" and "Year of Prophecy" DLCs are a different story. They are annihilating while going from "Mixed" to "Mostly Negative." I think the increase in numbers is owing to the latest sale Destiny 2* had on Steam, which produced a lot of new players. However, even if those numbers are "warped," those metrics work for Bungie. In a twisted way... One more thing. I never felt so much in a rat race like I do with "Edge of Fate." It's "exhausting," like it was never before for me with this game. Having (roughly) 60 days, especially for rank 100 - 110, for the reward pass is lousy, with having primary Seasonal Challenges only for the Portal. *Destiny 2: Legacy Collection (2025)