It feels like management finally got out of the devs way to me.

This feels like a really bad way to see which franchise should get the resources. There's no way Sony is looking at Marathon's numbers and saying "That's hot". They are planning a free week of Marathon right before the final D2 update and I don't think it's on accident. They're trying to do a numbers comparison and I think we all know how that is going to look. My thought/hope is that D2 pulls a T'Challa (As you can see, I am not dead), Marathon numbers don't change or get worse and Sony/Bungie has to give Destiny the care it deserves. I could also be high on cope rn so who knows.

[quote] If Bungie really delivers everything they’ve promised, it almost feels like they’re giving us every Christmas at once — which, let’s be honest, is pretty rare for Bungie. [/quote] If you knew it was the last Christmas you’d ever have, wouldn’t you go all in on it too? They’re giving us things they were already working on - things that would probably have been incorporated across future updates. They’re also making some changes to at least leave D2 in a better place before they go. Wrap up some loose ends. Resolve some sandbox issues. Clean up things like vendors and artifacts and such. None of this is going to extend the life cycle of the game. Especially when you consider what would Bungie have to do to satisfy the players again after this update? Remember - for every Foresaken there is a Shadowkeep. Every Witch Queen has a Lightfall. Every Final Shape has an Edge of Fate. This community is pretty needy and you can’t dump such a large, good looking series of changes on the game without the community lashing out when they can’t keep that cadence afterwards. You’ve already seen how many people interpret the “overdelivery” line even though from a business perspective, it’s a completely reasonable mantra.

Could be a huge marketing strategy

My 2d worth… The Core Ownership Group - a handful of top tier management, had a plan…to hobble the Destiny golden goose and then fatten it up to the nth degree, at the height of the Live Service bubble, and sell it to the highest bidder. And it worked! Then, they scarpered with their loot at the first opportunity, and Sony soon realised the error of purchasing that overpriced, overhyped, lemon. Q: how on earth did Sony give Auto-Pete the casting vote on that 3:2 Seat Board…and complete autonomy, to boot?! Obviously, sensible minds at Sony decided to pull the plug on their Live Service dreams…and so they did. Guardians cried rivers…puffed hard on Hopium…got angry at Marathon and the players that enjoy it…and are feasting on a few bones tossed their way for the upcoming last hurrah on June 9th. No doubt, player numbers will spike…and may be sustained if there’s enough stuff to do to keep a good number of players engaged going forward. The Planned Sale (a speculation only) to a China- or Korean gaming outfit would be my end game. I’d cut the bloat from the top to the bottom at BHQ…relocate to more affordable premises, sell off whatever hard assets possible, whilst maintaining Destiny and its loyal fans to show potential purchasers that there’s life in the old goose yet! The recent gatcha Destiny game was quite a hit by all accounts… For a China-based gaming company, with very deep pockets, and an audience of millions - all hungry for the next big thing…it’s a no-brainer! And what about the same for a Russia-based company with a similar point of view?! Both of the a/m scenarios do not depend on an international audience…they already have a very hungry domestic audience chomping at the bit! Food for thought?! 🤔 That is all. Ease Springs! 🖖👻 MTFBWY [b][i]PS BE NICE TO MARATHON PLAYERS…IT’S JUST A GAME![/i][/b]

I’m highly sceptical it’d simply be a “thank you” (because money is always going to be the primary motivation), but I agree it’s a generous offering for a live service that is ending. So I have a few theories… Maybe they were planning a Taken King / Forsaken style relaunch of D2, but it was cut short. Maybe they have plans for future Destiny content (D3 or a Destiny spinoff). Leaving D2 in a much healthier state would help sell future content. Maybe they have plans to sell the IP. Leaving D2 in a much healthier state would help with that sale. Maybe, like you suggested, Sony could be testing the waters to see how much pull the IP still has before they decide what to do with it. Maybe all or none of the above. I think we’ll see more Destiny in the future though.