Bungie is preparing a new franchise roadmap for Destiny following the end of Destiny 2 updates, including a "Destiny 'Legacy'" project and what appears to be a new installment for the IP. Importantly, "new updates" tied to a "celebration in Destiny 2" have also been teased. The only problem is that there's no guarantee any of it will actually happen.
In a lengthy and long-awaited blog post, longtime Destiny community manager Dylan Gafner (dmg04) speaks to new product head Josh Deane, who previously promised that Bungie is "not done with Destiny" and announced the ongoing unvaulting process.
Deane describes players' responses to Destiny 2's abrupt end. "You all didn’t just rage; you showed up," he says. "You shared your stories about your memories in Destiny, what the world meant to you and made sure to petition how disastrous it would be to walk away from this amazing universe. It inspired everyone."
But what is Bungie actually working on? The unvaulting process is in pre-production, Bungie says, sharing a new "progress bar" that stretches into early 2028. That's the earliest we can currently expect material changes to Destiny 2's content vault.
Unvaulting pre-production is expected to last until January or February 2027, and "from that point," it's expected to take another year "to fully complete the porting process" for old content. It's unclear at what rate any content may be unvaulted between that early 2027 and early 2028 window.
The unvaulting content list is shared in groups in order of priority. The "first pass" covers:
- Red War, Forsaken, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind campaigns
- Strikes from the above releases
- Raids, and Raid Lairs from the above releases
- Menagerie Activity with reprised rewards
Additionally, Bungie is looking at "stretch goals at unvaulting launch or after" the initial rollout. This includes:
- Free Roam Destinations (Public Events, Lost Sectors, Escalation Protocol, etc.)
- Seasonal Activities from Sundial (Season 9) to The Coil (Season 23)
- Raid and Raid Lair Weapon updates
- PvP Maps
Finally, Bungie spells out the content that it "currently does not have a path to update either for technical and/or strategic reasons." These are, in essence, the pipe dream unvaulting targets which we'll likely never see. Those are:
- Updated New Light Experience
- Seasonal Story Missions
- Gambit Map (Kell's Grave)
- Seasonal Hubs (e.g., Eliksni Quarter)
This time, Bungie is also looking beyond Destiny 2's past, but only in an incubation or pre-pre-production capacity for now. "I don’t see that wholeness intent just as unvaulting content; it means restoring Destiny’s past, present, and future, but let’s start with unvaulting," Deane says.
To that end, Bungie shares yet another roadmap, this time looking at the Destiny IP as a whole. "These are our anchors to look for and what will become future progress bars when we’re successful," Deane explains.
"Similar to June, when we aligned our initial greenlight with Destiny 2 unvaulting and fully greenlit the project in September, we’ve also aligned a new vision and plans for Destiny all up that we are actively working on making a reality," he adds.
However, the pillars of this vision are still in an "incubation, validation process." Only after Bungie clears that will it "have earned the right to make the announcements you all deserve," says Deane. "And if not, exile. I'll be a good high school football coach somewhere."
A "Destiny 2 'Celebration'" is expected to come with a February progress bar. "We believe we need to have a celebration in Destiny 2, beyond Monument of Triumph, for the community that provides new updates for you all to enjoy. More details to come!" Deane says. The magic words here are "new updates," as that's what Destiny 2 really lost with the end of active development (that and, more importantly, tons of Bungie devs).
Arguably more exciting is the promise of an unspecified "Destiny 'Legacy'" project. Get your Destiny 1 content rumor mill warmed up, because Deane says, "Our epic journey started over a decade ago, and the whole experience needs to be served to you all where you play today. Expect more information when we come back to you all early next year."
Most importantly, perhaps, Bungie pencils in "Redacted [TBD]," seemingly some sort of project launch. "Launch Ventrilo Message: ‘We’re back,'" the post teases.
"I think before we close it’s important to know that this is a true reset moment for Bungie, Marathon, and Destiny," Deane reiterates. "We also know time isn’t our friend; we’re playing from behind with the cards we have and I’m sure we’ll have to take more punches and make some hard decisions along the way."
This is the clearest Bungie's plan has looked in months, but do not light the fireworks just yet. Early 2028 is all we can look toward right now, and that's just for the restoration of old content.
These celebration, legacy, and mystery Destiny projects may never go beyond blog posts and whiteboards, and the next major strategic update from Bungie won't come until February 2027 either. Bungie also has Marathon to worry about, which will receive more focused communications soon.
The focus is nailing down "how we get to our end game, a new, forever Destiny, while rebuilding a relationship with a vibrant community along the way."
"We are aligned and are building a new future for Destiny," Deane says. He adds, "We're not going to forget the mistakes of the past, but it's time to learn from them and unify as one Bungie community. For us, the majority of our Bungie team is legacy Destiny, and we will all tell you that nothing can help bridge us into [the] future more than for Marathon to rapidly evolve and become sustainable."
