When it rains in the gaming industry, it pours. But for certain companies, they go through a hurricane, deserved or not. In this case, when it comes to Bungie, it’s more of a “long time coming” with them. Over the years that followed the 3.6 billion dollar acquisition with Sony, Destiny 2, and now Marathon have either been underwhelming at launch or on a steep, sad decline.
During these years of self-inflicted wounds, between lackluster content that killed momentum like Lightfall, or the numerous plagiarism claims (and one, especially proven case) that plagued the public image of Bungie. This caused the general discussion surrounding the company and its marquee title, Destiny 2, to be too difficult to find genuine, positive praise. In the aftermath of the launch of Marathon, their attempt at an extraction shooter that used one of their legacy IPs, Sony announced that they had to take a massive impairment loss for Bungie due to expectations falling short for both of their titles. This culminated in Bungie having to announce yesterday that they will have to move away from Destiny 2 after one final update to focus on Marathon and other projects (if they see the light of day).
Now with news from Jason Schreier that Bungie is soon to be faced with a “significant” layoff, on top of projects not being greenlit (and Destiny 3 not being in active development), the outlook on Bungie and Destiny 2 at this time is very bleak. With that in mind, if you are ready to basically just jump ship and find your new home, there are quite a few noteworthy ongoing games from trusted developers that have either been supported for a long time or are still in their prime.
1. First Up, Warframe
If you’re looking to go strictly free-to-play, then, well, Warframe has your back. Digital Extremes, following an unlucky streak during the pandemic, has slowly become one of the most popular online games on every platform. Warframe is a third-person, hyperactive shooter with crazy melee combat and amazing fluid movement. There are over 60 warframes that all boast unique abilities and styles.
Every piece of content in Warframe is free, unlike Destiny 2. No paid expansions, every seasonal update is free, and they even offer their battle pass for free without a paid track or pay-to-skip option. The game is also readily available on all platforms. This includes even your mobile device or Nintendo Switch 2.
Digital Extremes is even working on an upcoming fantasy MMORPG called Soulframe. If you are on PC, you can receive an invitation to play and test the game in its ongoing development before it hits Steam. The developers even do weekly short streams with updates and monthly massive “devstreams” that keep you in the loop on upcoming content.
2. Arc Raiders
If you are not into Destiny 2 and don’t have hope for Marathon, but want to try an extraction shooter, then you should keep an eye on Arc Raiders. The game is an extraction shooter that popped off last year amongst content creators and players alike. Selling over 15 million copies with constant updates, a dedicated PvE mode that you don’t have to wait for, and an emphasis on quality over quantity content updates that happen every 6 months, the game is basically the mainstream extraction shooter that will allow you to have fun on your own time with an active community.
3. Helldivers 2
What’s to really say about Helldivers 2? Sure, it is not an exact Destiny 2-esque experience, considering it does not have the free-roam content or raid experiences that Bungie cut their teeth on with the game. But Helldivers 2 is THE PvE coop experience to dive into (pun intended). I cannot count how many hours or long nights I have played with the friends I made from Destiny, and just how much fun I was having every night, no matter how high the difficulty got. You owe it to yourself to jump into this game with your friends or random players. You can even earn premium currency for each new battle pass just by playing the game!
4. Path of Exile
Ok, hear me out. This is a Hail Mary to get you to try something entirely new that isn’t like Destiny 2, but can satisfy that looter craving we all have deep down. Sure, you could always play Diablo 4 with its newest expansion, or you could hop on and try a truly free-to-play Diablo-like experience in Path of Exile. I have spent a good amount of time in the first game and can attest to the general quality of the experience. It feels like Diablo 2 and has the same general tone with all of the usual free-to-play stuff like seasonal updates. If you have been missing Diablo but don’t want to shell out any money right now, please try Path of Exile or wait for Path of Exile 2 after it leaves early access this year!
5. Borderlands 4
This final recommendation is purely for those who want the “actual” looter-shooter experience. Gearbox launched Borderlands 4 last year and has been constantly updating the game for free, and has only launched 2 pieces of paid DLC at the time of writing this. Like Destiny 2, it has weapon drops, random events in the world, random bosses, raid bosses, dungeons, and so much more. The buildcrafting for characters is shockingly deep, and every character still has their signature ultimate “Action Skills” that don’t take forever to charge.
This installment added an open world with world events that pop up in random intervals, and also features a very strong and mature story (especially when compared to the painfully unfunny one from Borderlands 3). Its biggest innovation to the looter-shooter genre in this installment was the “big encore machine” that allows you to replay a boss fight for more chances at its legendary loot drops at the press of a button, no waiting, just dive back into the arena and take it back on. You can read more about it in our review from last year here!
While it may seem like I am “dancing on a grave”, and I am, it is solely to point out that there are a lot of fun and popular alternatives to get your fill somewhere else, without having to worry about constant drama. As someone who played the original Destiny beta, I get it, the game is one-of-a-kind, but nothing lasts forever. Even the above games have a shelf life, but feeling “safe” is better than having to worry about what new problem arises every week or month from a legendary studio with multiple decades in the industry.
That is to say, you do not have to feel tied down; you can move on and still enjoy time with your friends if that is what Destiny 2 brought to you for years, like it once did for me.
