Bungie’s acclaimed looter-shooter Destiny 2 has been on thin ice for the past few months. With the release of Act III of their Episode: Revenant, more and more players have stopped playing. Almost 90% of its player base has dropped significantly over the past few weeks, marking a new low for the game.
According to Steamcharts.com, player numbers declined sharply in January. Only 19,000 players were recorded during the final hours of Act II. When Act III of Revenant launched, the number spiked to 36,000 — a far cry from its peak of 300,000 users. Many players seemed to forget that more content was on the way.
Paul Tassi, a well-known games journalist, explained this significant drop in his latest piece.
Other content creators, including Destiny 2’s lore expert @MyNameIsByf, expressed their opinions on the state of the game. Byf stated that he had “barely touched Destiny in a month.” He added, “...the thing we still need is a reason to play it.”
Destiny 2 hasn’t been the same since Bungie experienced massive layoffs in August 2024. It displaced 220 employees, including quality assurance staff, developers, and famed composer Michael Salvatori, who created the iconic Deep Stone Lullaby during the Beyond Light expansion.
While The Final Shape expansion was their best to date, amassing a record-breaking total of 316,651 players fighting the Witness, the player base quickly dwindled after the expansion’s initial hype. As the honeymoon phase ended, many players drifted away, searching for live-service games that don’t feel tired and repetitive.
One significant change Bungie made to its seasonal model was removing weekly missions, undoubtedly my favorite feature. Now, players can complete an entire act in one sitting, removing any sense of thrill or suspense from the narrative beats.
The weekly story content worked well because it resembled a TV show with cliffhangers and ongoing intrigue.
This issue has plagued Destiny 2 for quite some time. While the Raids, Dungeons, PvE, and PvP modes remain enjoyable, the core gameplay loop feels repetitive. Many players have grown weary of slaying the same enemies — the Eliksni, Hive, and Vex — repeatedly.
The recent addition of the Dread has added some variety, but it isn’t enough. Players yearn for new game modes and fresh content to revitalize the experience. Maybe rework Gambit just for the heck of it.
There are numerous reasons for the sharp decline in Destiny 2’s player base, but this period marks an all-time low for the franchise. It shows that the looter-shooter genre has already shown its age.