When Destiny was released in September 2014, players knew they were entering a game experience that was designed to be ever-evolving. Bungie, the developers behind Destiny, revealed their strategy to make new content for the game available on a continual basis. This naturally got players excited, in addition to the concept of the game as a first-person shooter with elements of MMO and RPG, set in a futuristic sci-fi world where the future of humanity is challenged by a powerful outside force.
Bungie is also the developer responsible for the Halo franchise, and there are definitely similarities between the games, but, overall, Destiny is a completely new gaming franchise. And while it was released to the satisfaction of many gamers, there were still those who found reason to be disappointed in the game, especially after Bungie released the game’s first patch of downloadable content The Dark Below. The game’s first DLC patch frustrated many players who were experiencing their hard-earned weapon upgrades becoming obsolete by weapons made available through vendors. Some players even found themselves unable to move beyond level 29 in the game because of the game’s reward economy. Destiny’s evolution was clearly taking a turn in the other direction.
The second DLC patch, House of Wolves, is purportedly set to release in March, and Bungie aims to rectify many of the frustrations created by the first patch. This is very important to their overall strategy because they want Destiny to be a game people are playing ten years from now. DLC patches will continue, but if the problems created with the first one echo into the second, many players could get frustrated and move on. A game touted as ever-evolving can’t continue to experience the types of glitches experienced in the first patch. Playability and entertainment are important, and if enjoyable gameplay decreases, the number of players of the game will likely decrease as well.
The game is highly popular, however, with over 10 million online players, and those who love the game most want Destiny’s evolution to be successful. Bungie has a lot riding on the House of Wolves patch, and that alone should give fans hope for a ton of great new downloadable content when the DLC releases.
Tom is a gamer, blogger, article writer, storyteller, and screenwriter who also teaches writing for a living as a high school English teacher.