Bungie preps for coronavirus but says it won't affect Destiny 2 Season of the Worthy launch

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Several cases have been reported in Seattle near Bungie HQ

(Image credit: Bungie)

Bungie employees are shifting to remote work in response to COVID-19 coronavirus cases appearing near the studio's Seattle headquarters, but the Destiny 2 Season of the Worthy launch is still on schedule.

"While there is a possibility that this change could affect our patching cadence in the short term, we will be sure to keep players informed about those schedules as much as possible," a blog post reads. "Most immediately, we will still be launching Season of the Worthy on March 10, followed by the start of Trials of Osiris on March 13." 

It's unclear how long Bungie employees will need to work from home, but the studio maintains that it will "continue crafting the ever-evolving Destiny universe, while making those behind-the-scenes efforts to keep everything running smoothly invisible to our fans." Naturally, the health and safety of its employees is the studio's priority. And even if this change does lead to minor delays down the road, perhaps to individual updates on the Season of the Worthy calendar, nobody with an ounce of decency will complain. 

Bungie is far from the first or only studio, let alone business, to enact remote work policies in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The virus's impact on the games industry has been especially prominent in the past few weeks, between the cancellation of GDC, multiple PAX East withdrawals, and miscellaneous delays for launches and events. At this stage, the biggest questions are how the virus will impact PS5 and Xbox One, which are manufactured in Asia, and whether E3 2020 will be held at all. 

Bungie recently announced some major class changes coming next Season.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.