Destiny 2

Destiny 2 is a free-to-play online multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Bungie, released September 6, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is the sequel to 2014's Destiny and follows Guardians (player characters) defending humanity from alien threats across the solar system.

On June 4, 2026, Bungie announced Destiny 2 would receive its final content update, Monument of Triumph, on June 18, 2026. The patch includes a boss-rush mode called The Gauntlet, Exotic weapon balance changes, and a farewell cinematic. After June 18, Destiny 2 enters maintenance mode: servers remain online, but no new content, seasons, or balance patches will be released.

The announcement followed Bungie's third wave of layoffs in 2026, cutting 220 employees (30% of remaining staff) amid Sony Interactive Entertainment's $700 million write-down of Bungie's valuation. Bungie is now fully focused on Marathon, a PvP extraction shooter scheduled for 2027.

Monument of Triumph is Destiny 2's final content patch, released June 18, 2026. The update includes:

The Gauntlet (New Activity)

A boss-rush mode where players face all 50+ raid and dungeon bosses in sequence. Completing The Gauntlet rewards the Traveler's Chosen Exotic sidearm (Tier 5), the first Tier 5 Exotic in Destiny history. Tier 5 Exotics have randomized perks and break the normal one-Exotic-equipped rule, allowing players to wear multiple Tier 5s simultaneously.

Farewell Cinematic

A 12-minute cutscene plays after completing The Gauntlet, showing all major characters (Zavala, Ikora, Cayde-6, The Drifter) gathering at the Tower to watch the Traveler depart Earth. The cinematic ends with the player's Guardian looking toward the Pyramids, implying the conflict continues off-screen.

Quality-of-Life Changes

• All seasonal activities made permanent (no more vaulting).
• Exotic drop rates doubled.
• Transmog (armor customization) now free (previously required Silver currency).

On June 3, 2026, Bungie laid off 220 employees (30% of its workforce), the third round of cuts since Sony's 2022 acquisition. The layoffs primarily affected Destiny 2 live-ops teams, QA, and community management. Bungie stated the cuts were necessary to "realign resources toward Marathon and future projects."

The layoffs followed Sony Interactive Entertainment's announcement of a $700 million write-down of Bungie's purchase price, citing "underperformance of Destiny 2 revenue targets" and "delayed Marathon launch." Sony originally acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in January 2022.

On May 15, 2026, Sony Interactive Entertainment disclosed a $700 million impairment charge related to Bungie, reducing Bungie's book value from $3.6B to $2.9B. Sony cited:

• Destiny 2 revenue declining 40% YoY in 2025 (from $1.2B to $720M).
• Lightfall and The Final Shape expansions missing sales targets by 30%.
• Marathon delayed from Q4 2026 to 2027, reducing near-term revenue projections.

The write-down is one of the largest in gaming history, comparable to Microsoft's $800M Mixer write-down (2020) and Meta's $10B+ Reality Labs losses.

Destiny 2 launched September 6, 2017, and amassed:

• 47 million registered players (lifetime).
• $4.2 billion total revenue (including expansions, seasons, Eververse).
• 9 major expansions: Forsaken (2018), Shadowkeep (2019), Beyond Light (2020), The Witch Queen (2022), Lightfall (2023), The Final Shape (2024), and three smaller DLCs.
• 23 seasonal content drops (2019-2026).

At its peak (2022-2023), Destiny 2 averaged 2 million daily active players. By June 2026, that figure dropped to 400,000.

Bungie confirmed Destiny 2 servers will remain online indefinitely, with no shutdown date announced. The game enters maintenance mode: all content remains playable, but no new updates, seasons, or balance patches will be released.

Bungie is now fully focused on Marathon, a PvP extraction shooter targeting a 2027 launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Marathon is Bungie's attempt to pivot from PvE live-service games to the competitive PvP market dominated by Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown.