Bungie addresses Destiny 2 Frontiers worries, sharing concept art and structure plans

In a Developer Livestream on Twitch, Bungie spoke about what Destiny 2 players could expect for content moving into Frontiers, comparing each of the two yearly expansions to the size of the Rise of Iron expansion for the original Destiny. The studio also offered a glimpse at what new content could look like, showing some concept art and commenting on gameplay structure.

The Destiny 2 community has found itself in a bit of a predicament since Bungie announced its plans for the future. On the one hand, some rejoiced at the news that the game was continuing not only to receive regular expansions but two expansions a year. On the other hand, others worried that Bungie noted that these expansions would be smaller in size and scale than what players had grown used to. Bungie seemingly took the Episode Revenant livestream as an opportunity to assure fans about the future of Destiny 2, spending a good chunk of the stream talking about Frontiers.

Bungie wants to spread out the spotlight

During the stream, Destiny 2‘s Assistant Game Director, Robbie Stevens, outlined how future expansions for Destiny 2, starting with Codename: Frontiers, will shift in scale and structure. Instead of a single enormous expansion every 18 months or so, the new approach aims to bring two relatively large expansions annually. Each is noted to have a scope similar to Rise of Iron from the original Destiny.

“Expansions are changing going forward with Codename: Frontiers,” Stevens explained. “Our philosophy behind this is moving from one really big, all-consuming tentpole moment that takes all the oxygen in the room, to two big tentpole moments happening in each year.”

Bungie’s plan introduces more frequent content and more replayable and unique experiences. “Each expansion is going to have its own unique version of a campaign and post-game experience that you can dive really deep into beyond the initial playthrough,” Stevens elaborated, comparing it to beloved areas like The Dreaming City or The Final Shape’s new locale, The Pale Heart. “Making our expansions unique and deeply replayable is a big goal for us, in large part to support all the new gear and the new tiering of gear that we’re putting into the game.”

One of the standout features of this new approach is the non-linear design being touted for upcoming campaigns, particularly with Apollo. Stevens described it as being something of a “Metroidvania-inspired” destination, implying that areas or zones might have layers that aren’t immediately accessible. 

“You’re going to journey to a Metroidvania-inspired destination. That’s our guiding light for how we’re creating this new location,” Stevens shared. “So, this new destination is going to feature a non-linear campaign that puts you in the driver’s seat of exploring its world and its story.”

Bungie claims it’s not taking its foot off the narrative gas

Bungie also took some time to address some of the community worries that the story would no longer be a centric part of the Destiny experience. In short, the studio maintains that narrative is still a cornerstone of what gives Destiny its identity and that it won’t be going away. Narrative Director Alison Lührs spoke on the topic.

Responding to whether Destiny 2‘s new content structure would allow the same quality of storytelling as it had in the past, Lührs said, “That would be news to me if [the narrative] suddenly vanished.” Lührs continued, “Story is Destiny. What makes Destiny Destiny is the beating heart of story at its core. That’s not going anywhere.”

Elaborating a bit, Lührs explained that the new structure allows the narrative in Destiny to go places where it wasn’t able to before. Aside from being able to play with delivery and new themes, Lührs notes that the two yearly expansions will allow the game to feel more alive, giving the changes to the universe and its lore a more rapid delivery.

The Narrative Director also noted that Frontiers allows some of the previous pain points within Destiny 2 to fall away. The current narrative dance players often do, where a week’s worth of quests amounts to talking to a few NPCs in different locales, will be a thing of the past. 

“Yeah, [that Quest structure] drives us bonkers too,” Lührs said. “We believe that everything should be questioned, right? Like, we should be questioning that structure; we should be reinvestigating it. Starting with Revenant and especially when we get to Apollo, we’re going to be deliberately shaking it up. By the time we get to Apollo, that loop, that pattern, is more or less gone.”

While it was a bit unexpected for Bungie to go all in on addressing feedback and talking about Frontiers, the stream certainly proved insightful. It’s clear that Bungie is working to do what it can to reestablish player faith. As Lührs said, “The feedback is loud and clear,” so let’s hope Bungie will continue taking it to heart.