After the last developer update for Destiny 2, many fans were angry with Bungie’s communication. Now Game Director Joe Blackburn has spoken out personally and vowed to mend his ways.
Destiny 2 lacks content – especially the Melting Pot PvP mode. When asked for feedback in the Destiny community, this is one of the most commonly cited criticisms of Bungie’s multiplayer shooter.
And although fans have repeatedly addressed this shortcoming and demanded improvements, hardly anything has improved here with the latest updates for Destiny 2. Even the new expansion The Final Shape
is expected to do little to change this – a fact that has had players on edge in recent weeks.
Frustration among the fans
After the (Developer update on the state of the game from early August) there was a wave of frustration online about Bungie’s update policy and general communication with fans. Many had the impression that they were being ignored by the developers. The central point of criticism: There should only be a new Crucible map.
In the original update from Bungie, it was said that the studio had too little staff capacity to develop more than one new PvP map per year If they were to assign developers to this, they would be lacking in other areas
Many fans found this argument unconvincing. After all, Bungie is not a small indie studio with only three employees, but legendary developers with years of experience and big budgets.
The boss has to take action
Bungie itself has now apparently realised that the previous communication was insufficient – and has drawn consequences. On Tuesday, Destiny chief developer Joe Blackburn spoke out on Twitter (or X) and asked the fans for forgiveness in a video message.
In the video, Blackburn acknowledged mistakes in communication and vowed to make amends. The last developer update had neither met the expectations of the fans nor Bungie’s own standards. That was his fault, Blackburn said.
Trying something different, yall have 15 minutes to chat? pic.twitter.com/wzB6xqJPGU
– Joe Blackburn (@joegoroth) August 15, 2023
With regard to the PvP mode, he said: I think it is clear that this approach does not lead to the melting pot mode that our players expect from us.
Therefore, the team has decided to develop several new PvP maps and release them for free in 2024
In addition, a PvP Strike Team will be created to take care of Crucible development and maintain contact with the community. In the future, they want to talk more openly with the fans about updates and listen more to their feedback.
On Twitter, many Destiny players celebrated the message and thanked Blackburn for his honest words. One user wrote: It’s good to hear that
Another said: In the state the community is currently in, it must have taken courage to make this video.
What do you think of Blackburn’s video? Would you like to see more direct communication from game developers? Are you a Destiny 2 fan yourself and now hopeful for a bright future for the multiplayer shooter? Or are you indifferent to such private developer updates in the aftermath? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
