The PvPers of Destiny 2 were not happy whatsoever with the latest state of the game letter from director Joe Blackburn, who says that the team is “built to support more overarching updates to PvP […] rather than focusing exclusively on maps” and that one new map will be coming to the game – that has prompted suspicion of the suggestion that a studio of Bungie’s size couldn’t devote resources to PvP activities. The player blowback has in turn seen Blackburn emerge with a 15-minute-long video on Twitter to detail a bigger focus on PvP content and apologize at the same time.
In the video, Blackburn admits that adding one PvP map a year “is not producing the Crucible that [Bungie’s] players expect from [it],” so the studio is now going to create a “strike team” of developers whose sole purpose will be on making PvP content and acting on PvPer feedback, while a bundle of new maps will be made and released for free in 2024 and more PvP modes will be added to core PvP playlists. The focus on more maps did come with the caveat from Blackburn that the studio is “going to [need] time to sort of understand the details of what [it’s] putting out here.”
PvPer reactions to Blackburn’s video appear to consist of plenty of skepticism to temper general hopefulness and some appreciative replies.
In addition to the PvP-centric discussion, Blackburn admits in the video that the letter should not have released in the state that it was, noting that it “didn’t provide the high-level vision that we normally provide.” This led him to promise more communication going forward primarily through its official channels rather than a named developer or community manager – a decision that’s likely a result of gamers directly threatening Bungie devs to the point that it had to take one particularly toxic player to court.
On the subject of communication, Blackburn noted that the upcoming showcase video that’s premiering on August 22nd will be focused on a wider audience than those who are entrenched in the shooter, so players shouldn’t expect hyper-granular breakdowns. “It’s going to be really focused on the story, really be focused on the location, and maybe we’ll get a little bit into how the live service of Destiny is going to change after The Final Shape,” he says in the video.
That showcase, incidentally, will start with a pre-show at 11:00 a.m. EDT, followed by the video proper an hour later. Fans who decide to watch on Twitch can nab themselves an exclusive emblem for watching at least 30 minutes via Twitch Drops. Until the pre-recorded showcase debuts, there’s a hype trailer for the whole thing that seeks to condense the entire Light and Darkness saga that has been powering the narrative to this point.
Trying something different, yall have 15 minutes to chat? pic.twitter.com/wzB6xqJPGU
— Joe Blackburn (@joegoroth) August 15, 2023
