Bungie had once considered to launch Destiny 2 this year, according to leaked court documents that appeared online yesterday morning. Arriving in the wake of an ongoing legal battle between former employee Marty O’Donnell and the studio, the reports point to substantial story changes that were implemented prior to the launch of the base game last September.
Before this overhaul took place, Destiny was on course to release in 2013, meaning that the bona fide sequel would have released in 2015 to accommodate the company’s two-year gap between flagship releases. In accordance with the delay, however, this purported release schedule has been pushed back one year, meaning that Destiny 2 will, much to the surprise of no one, launch in 2016, with another mainline installment following every other year.
Bear in mind that even if this is a legitimate document, Bungie have likely mapped out the tentative content plan to appease the ten-year licensing agreement with Activision, meaning that it could change further down the line. For reference, Project Tiger was the codename for Destiny during development.
Taking Destiny players right up until 2020, it’s a rare glimpse into the release schedule of a major title. We’ve long heard that Activision considers the shared-world shooter to be a platform upon which to release additional expansions – as evidenced by The Dark Below and House of Wolves – so this image is by no means the definitive version of Bungie’s blueprint.
Should everything fall into place, though, Destiny 2 will launch in 2016 across console platforms and is set to act as the culminate of a base game, three mainline expansions and umpteen updates. Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, Guardians can next look forward to The Taken King, which touches down on September 15.
