The Real Reason Destiny 3 Isn't Happening Anytime Soon

After Bungie parted ways with Microsoft and the Halo franchise, the developer revealed its next big step in the game industry was Destiny, an online shooter that would mix fast-paced action with an epic space opera narrative. The company partnered with Activision to develop the game, and audiences were promised years upon years of support and content. Three years and four expansions later, Bungie released Destiny 2 and stopped supporting Destiny.

On one hand, Destiny 2 is a reported improvement over Destiny. The new game is more accessible since it is available on PC and free-to-play. It also receives seasonal updates that continue its narrative and keep players coming back for more. However, audiences are waiting with bated breath for what they believe is the inevitable Destiny 3 announcement. However, that fabled day drifts off further and further with every passing minute.

Even if the devs at Bungie plan to release Destiny 3, they might have a little too much on their plates to get started.

Big things are happening in Destiny 2. The Cabal eyesore of a ship known as the Almighty was finally destroyed by the game's on-again-off-again helpful AI Rasputin. There was much rejoicing, and many players logged in to witness the festivities. Even NPCs moved from their eternal perches to experience the fireworks, including the otherwise immobile Lord Shaxx. However, this was only the beginning for Destiny 2.

During a preview video, Destiny 2 general manager Mark Noseworthy and game director Luke Smith revealed where the game will go next. The first stop, the expansion Beyond Light, will take place on Jupiter's frozen moon of Europa. The expansion will kick off a new series of storylines where players delve into the mysteries surrounding the eternal war between the Light and Darkness and even dip their toes into the dark side with some Darkness powers and the new Stasis element.

After Beyond Light, gamers can look forward to the next expansion, The Witch Queen, which will arrive in 2021, with Lightfall (working title) falling into place in 2022. Given the release schedule's brevity, Destiny 2's developers won't have free time to produce Destiny 3. Will you see a sequel after Lightfall? Only the developers know for sure, but that is still probably years away.

While Bungie has its hands full crafting the future of Destiny 2, the company is still open to trying new things, even if it means hiring new hands and possibly ruining any chances of Destiny 3 in the near future.

Sites such as Metro noticed new job postings popping up in Bungie's dedicated career portal. For example, the company was looking for an "Incubation Investment Designer" to help manage and create a database of "baubles, weapons, and armor" and develop a system to "distribute those items in a necromancer's dungeon." 

Bungie was also hiring an "Incubation Senior/Lead Combat Designer" to help "build our next great IP," as well as an "Incubation Art Director" to "work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters." None of these jobs seem related to Destiny 2, since nothing about that game screams whimsical.

More importantly, Bungie registered a trademark for the name Matter, which could be the name of the company's "next great IP." Of course, Matter might be the name of a new system in Destiny 2 (the company previously trademarked the name Eververse, which is the game's microtransaction store). 

Either way, Bungie is still hiring people to help produce a new game that sounds like the lovechild of Diablo 3 and Borderlands. With the company's workforce divided between continued Destiny 2 content and the new IP, it might not have anyone free to work on Destiny 3.

Destiny 2's developers have admitted the game is getting a little too big to effectively patch. While the team has plans to prevent disk space requirements from ballooning out of control, those plans don't involve releasing Destiny 3. As far as the team is concerned, the mere concept of a sequel is a non-starter.

During the recent massive Destiny 2 reveal, Mark Noseworthy and Luke Smith stated in no uncertain terms that the developers at Bungie lack the desire to make Destiny 3. They want to create a "single evolving world," and producing a sequel would force players to start from scratch, not unlike how Destiny 2 required everyone who played Destiny to abandon hours of progress and loot.

If Bungie doesn't want to make a third Destiny game, there's nothing anyone can do but wait to see if the developers stick to that plan.