Amid a torrent of hype and backed by a $500 million budget thanks to publishing giant Activision, the creators of the blockbuster franchise Halo, Bungie, released their newest game Destiny to millions of eager fans. Unfortunately, and despite Bungie’s highly talented team, many now question how that money was spent given the numerous lukewarm reviews the game continues to receive from fans and critics alike. With a Metacritic average somewhere in the high 70s, Destiny is one of the lowest rated games from Bungie yet. Although Activision boldly states that Destiny will be an IP that will be around for an “awful long time”, such high hopes are quickly being dashed by the the game’s disappointing debut. So what exactly went wrong?
It’s safe to assume that Bungie’s vision for their new game, and the pressure they must have faced to produce another blockbuster, was too much and too big to realize. According to reviews from various online media outlets, Destiny suffered from lack of content, half-baked features, and a disappointing story. As a brand new IP, it seems creating the basic foundation of the game took too much time away from making enough engaging content to satisfy players. In addition, a big portion of the game’s $500 million budget likely went to advertising instead of game development.
But even in the face of lackluster reviews, Bungie’s Destiny has gone on to earn $325 million in the first five days of its release, which so far is a financial success. In the long run, however, it remains to be seen if Bungie fans are willing to give the franchise a second chance in the event of a Destiny sequel.
Although we’ll never know who was responsible for throttling the game’s ambitious plans, Bungie or Activision, let’s just hope Destiny’s future will not continue to let fans down.
Destiny was released on September 9 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Beyond graphics and story, understanding what makes gameplay feel responsive offers another way to examine the player experience.