Destiny 2 is celebrating a big anniversary event - Join us for "30 Years of Bungie"

On 12/7 Destiny 2 has launched the Anniversary Event celebrating Bungie's 30th birthday. We explain the event and take a look at 30 years of Bungie.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - Destiny 2 kicked off the evening of December 7th with the birthday event celebrating 30 years of Bungie. With this, the studio wants to look back hand in hand with fans and players on three decades of gaming shaped by Bungie and celebrate the adventures experienced and to come together with an in-game event. Because the US development studio is not only responsible for the popular Destiny series, but has also massively influenced the genre of sci-fi and multiplayer shooters with the iconic Halo series, for example, and made it popular with a wide audience. We take a look at the event as well as 30 years of Bungie.

Destiny 2: Bungie 30 Years – This is what awaits you at the birthday event

When does the event start? The big birthday event starts in the current Season 15 of Destiny 2 - with the Weekly Reset on the evening of December 7th. However, keep in mind that the accompanying Destiny 2 3.4.0 update and maintenance may cause delays (if there are any problems).

Who can join? In principle all of them, because the event itself and the new 6-player group activity "Tests of Courage" are accessible to all players free of charge. But if you want to enjoy the event to the fullest, then you need the paid package "30 Years of Bungie" (available individually for €24.99, is included in the most expensive Witch Queen bundle for €99.99).

What we already know about the content: The celebrations in Destiny 2 include the free 6-player Dares of Eternity activity with matchmaking, new secrets, and fresh rewards to collect to commemorate Bungie's 30-year history. Even without the "30 Years of Bungie" package, there is a lot of new loot in Destiny 2 - including, for example, the new weapon Exotic Trailblazer.

However, if you really want to enjoy the whole thing, then you need the paid mini addon "30 Years of Bungie". This package includes

As an example, resourceful fans have already spotted hints of a possible Halo crossover with Destiny 2, which featured 2 Halo-inspired weapons. The armor ornaments already shown in the cool streetware look also have some unmistakable references to Halo.

And there may be more cool nods to Bungie's past, because there's more than enough to offer. By the way: So far, the event and its content has been really well received by fans and players. Many are positively surprised, in principle nobody expected such a scope of the event. Because so much new loot and content is otherwise only offered by a full season.

30 years of Bungie - A look back

About the company itself: The world-renowned game developer based in Bellevue (Greater Seattle, USA) today has almost 600 employees and was originally founded in 1991 by two students. Some of the biggest releases include the video game series Myth, Marathon, Halo (now at Microsoft), and Destiny.

At the beginning, Bungie only developed games for Apple's Macintosh, only at the end of 1995 did their first game (parallel) appear for the PC, with the Halo series in the 2000s came the big financial breakthrough. After partnerships with industry giants such as Microsoft or Activision, the company is now completely independent and takes its own destiny into its own hands. For example, Bungie operates and sells the action MMO Destiny 2 entirely on its own.

The first 10 years: In the first decade after its founding, Bungie produced games such as Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete, the shooter Marathon 1 and 2, the first two parts of the popular Myth series and the third-person shooter Oni.

While some of those games were popular, the big breakthrough that would make the Bungie name memorable for many was yet to come.

The Halo era: The real breakthrough came after the takeover by Microsoft with the launch of one of the most famous and popular shooter series ever - Halo. From 2001 to 2010, Bungie produced a total of 5 Halo titles that shaped and inspired entire generations of gamers. These include:

And even today, the Halo series created by Bungie is considered by many to be one of the best shooter games ever.

Destiny: After separating from Microsoft, Bungie entered into an exclusive contract with the publishing giant Activision in April 2010 and in the course of the cooperation created another unforgettable milestone in gaming history - Destiny (2014). What started out as a multiplayer sci-fi shooter with some RPG elements has now developed into one of the biggest and best action MMOs on the market in the form of Destiny 2 and still attracts tons of players with a unique sci-fi universe to this day (which some even refer to as the Star Wars of gaming), cool loot, unique gunplay and always new content through constant live service.

Destiny 2 didn't really start well, in principle it was developed past the wishes of the fans. Shortly after the release, there was increasingly harsh criticism from disappointed players. Many had wished for a consistent improvement and further development of part 1, but it quickly became clear that the sequel had been developed completely past the wishes and hopes of the fans in many crucial points.

But Bungie didn't let that sit and tried to get closer to the ideas of the community with regular updates. With the first major expansion Forsaken in 2018, after a few small ones, the studio finally took the first really big step in the right direction. Forsaken finally made Destiny 2 what many had expected at the time of release. After separating from Activision in 2019, Bungie then managed to implement its very own vision of Destiny 2 with regular updates, numerous new features and two other major expansions. This is well received by many and so the game company has consistently continued this line since then.

What does the future hold? Destiny 2 is set to continue as an action MMO for years to come. In addition, there are probably other exciting projects at Bungie in the making.

After Beyond Light in 2020, The Witch Queen was supposed to be the second of three related annual expansions Bungie wanted to continue Destiny 2 with until 2022. Originally it was said: The saga about light and darkness should be brought to an end by the third expansion Lightfall in 2022. But now Bungie's plans have changed.

The grand story of Destiny 2 will no longer be completed with the Fall 2022 Lightfall expansion, but with another, fourth chapter called The Final Shape. But when exactly that will happen and what it is about specifically remains unclear for the time being.

But in short: Destiny 2 will definitely continue for the next few years. And even after The Final Shape, according to Bungie, it shouldn't be over yet. The future of the action MMO remains exciting in any case. Some have suggested that we could end up with an all-encompassing Destiny experience, where all of the content from Destiny 1 and 2 will be brought together and made available to fans. But that's just speculation so far.

Bungie also had the new "Matter" brand protected in 2018, which has been the subject of much discussion since then. Nothing is officially known about this new game project. The first job advertisements indicate a multiplayer title with developable characters, loot, PvE and PvP and bizarre humor. Some leaks said it could be a Destiny sequel. In addition, Bungie also received a hefty investment of more than $100 million in 2018 from Chinese internet giant NetEase, which is best known for mobile games. In the future, we could also expect a new project from Bungie in the mobile sector.

Rubric list image: © Bungie (montage)