The final two months has been a rollercoaster journey for Future 2 followers, from the heights of the critically-acclaimed Remaining Form enlargement to the depths of downsizing on the studio that made it and stories of main shifts and deserted ambitions for the sci-fi MMO. Future 2 will proceed, perhaps much more sustainably, however not as followers have identified it, or some had hoped it will.
Final evening, Large Bomb cohost Jeff Grubb reported that Bungie was stepping again from Future 2‘s huge annual expansions to give attention to smaller “content material packs” that will launch alongside different episodic updates. And at the moment, Bloomberg shed extra mild on these adjustments, reporting that as a substitute of main new paid campaigns yearly, these smaller content material drops would intention to be free and modeled after Future 2‘s current Into the Mild replace which added a horde mode and many new loot for gamers to gather.
Bloomberg additionally reported that an in-development challenge referred to as “Payback” was canceled earlier this 12 months. It will have been extra of a Future spin-off than a sequel, with third-person motion and a give attention to exploration and team-based boss fights, probably within the vein of Warframe or Genshin Influence. However along with that recreation being canned, the layoffs this week had been a part of a reorganization that included cuts to Future 2‘s audio, story, and participant help groups. Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy, longtime veterans who had been regularly the face of Future as not too long ago as this 12 months (and had been reportedly engaged on “Payback” based on Grubb), had been additionally laid off.
Maybe essentially the most disappointing information for some followers, nevertheless, is that there’s no Future 3 on the finish of this lengthy, darkish tunnel. Based on Bloomberg, it doesn’t exist but and hasn’t been in improvement. Whereas that doesn’t preclude it from occurring sooner or later, it’s clear the current downsizing means Bungie is targeted on sustaining Future 2‘s precarious current and delivery its new extraction shooter Marathon in 2025, versus opening up a very new chapter within the sci-fi universe it spent the final decade making.
Based on reporting by Recreation File, the upheaval for Bungie and Future 2 wasn’t inevitable but it surely was a very long time coming, spurred by overly optimistic plans throughout the pandemic years from studio management and declining gross sales of every new Future 2 enlargement. If there’s one shiny spot in all of this for gamers, it appears like the sport’s onboarding might be a major focus transferring ahead, serving to new gamers expertise the enjoyable however notoriously advanced and convoluted loot shooter.