Summary
Yesterday,BungieannouncedDestiny 2’snext two major updates. The first, The Edge of Fate, sends Guardians to Kepler, a new location in the game. It allows them to wield new abilities and weapons and changes the game’sarmor system.
The second update, part of the Year of Prophecy, is called Renegades. It merges elements “inspired” by theStar Warsuniverse with Destiny 2’s “distinctive storytelling.” While the new content isn’t a full crossover, elements like Lightsabers and certain guns will make their way across from Star Wars into Destiny 2.
Given the game’s rich, eight-year history, such a huge diversion from the norm, integrating one of the world’s most beloved sci-fi franchises, has been met with a mixed reaction from fans.
Destiny 2’s Renegades Update Has Already Been Met With A Mixed Reception
Since its announcement, multiple threads have popped up on the Destiny 2subreddit, with the game’s committed player base expressing concerns about the new Renegades update. Between them, these threads have garnered hundreds of combined upvotes and comments, with Guardian’s quick to share their opinions on the crossover-not-crossover.
“I really don’t like the concept of a game with such rich, unique lore and tons of potential stories making an expansion that takes a ton of stuff from another unique sci-fi setting,“saidAccomplished-Aerie65. “It just feels like unnecessarily cheapening the story. Like Bungie doesn’t have faith in their own creativity or IP anymore.”
Valken-Merlot concurred,adding, “The problem I have is that Destiny has always been this way, it’s inherently super referential and inspired by other things in every expansion, but they never needed the ‘aesthetic, tone and vibe’ of an officially licensed agreement to do so.”
These comments were echoed multiple times throughout numerousthreads.
The reception to the announcement was so mixed that Destiny 2’s assistant game director, Robbie Stevens, releaseda statement. He said, “Rest assured, Guardians - everything in Renegades is in-canon for the Destiny universe, but we’re leaning into the aesthetic, tone, and vibe of Star Wars to tell a Destiny story with Destiny characters.”
We’re leaning into the aesthetic, tone, and vibe of Star Wars to tell a Destiny story with Destiny characters.
Stevens' comments were enough to ease some players' concerns. However, others felt it set a bad precedent. “If it is ‘successful’, it will become a lazy excuse to continue with this trend in the future. Destiny fashion is going to completely lose its incredible, unique identity,“saidFearsmok00.
With the update still around seven months away, Bungie has plenty of time to assuage concerns and get players excited, especially with itsfull reveal coming on September 9. For now, though, its lackluster announcement has seemingly done more harm than good.
