Low player sentiment could probably be attributed to bad game design and anti-consumer practises.

I really like Destiny. It plays well and the world is one that I enjoy immensely. I bought Lightfall and the annual pass this year, as i did for Witchqueen and Beyond Light in the previous years.

I have barely played Destiny this year.

Lightfall was a mess at launch that was incredibly disappointing as both a follow up to the genuinely brilliant Witchqueen and as the penultimate chapter in this near decade long “saga”. The season content this year has been fine to good however, though not enough to pull me back in.

There in lies the problem, 2023 has been a banger of a year for games with multiple titles “worth a buy” each month. This means that as someone who is invested in Destiny, not even I have the time to put into it at the moment on a lackluster year.

I feel like this game lives/dies annually by its expansion that then serves to keep players invested across that years seasons. Between a bad xpac and tough competition from tons of other games, Destiny isn’t in a great spot. This poor year also calls into question what we’re actually going to get with Finsl Shape, and whether it’ll be one of the good or bad years.

Ultimately, my point is that I’m not surprised it’s not making enough money currently, or that there’s less interest in The Final Shape. Bungie have created this situation for themselves.