After nearly a decade of working at Bungie and four years as game director of Destiny 2, Joe Blackburn has left his position, moving on to “a new adventure outside the walls of Bungie.” The announcement was first made by Blackburn on Twitter, where he talked up a new development milestone for The Final Shape that would begin this month and would also mark his departure from the studio.
“As a deeply invested Guardian before starting here at Bungie, getting to be a part of the Destiny 2 team has been the privilege of a lifetime,” he writes. “I am and will forever remain a lifelong Bungie fan and believer in what the teams within its walls are capable of.”
Blackburn’s successor is Tyson Green, himself being a long-time Bungie employee whose credits include work on Myth II, Halo 3, and of course the Destiny series. The studio both bid Blackburn farewell and shared a message from Green in D2’s latest newsletter, where the latter expresses humility in taking the director’s role and excitement for the shooter’s steps forward.
“Joe has always brought a lot of energy and creative vigor to the team, and it has been a pleasure to work on Destiny with him as a teammate and a friend. I expect we’re going to miss him terribly. To step into his role is humbling, but also energizing, and I look forward to carrying on his work in service to our players and our team.”
As for the rest of the weekly newsletter, it shares some stats from the fireteam finder beta and discusses updates to the feature, outlines some tweaks to some in-game activities, and casts a spotlight on the upcoming Mass Effect collab.
This ritual will be especially meaningful to me personally, as it will also serve as a moment to pass the torch of Destiny 2 Game Director to the next era of leadership as I head on a new adventure outside the walls of Bungie.
— Joe Blackburn (@joegoroth) January 31, 2024
