Skip to main content

‘Destiny 2’ set to add private multiplayer matches in 2018

Destiny 2 – Official Competitive Multiplayer Trailer
Destiny 2 is one of the best first-person shooters of the year, and its competitive multiplayer “Crucible” mode has had a large hand in keeping the game engaging in the nearly two months it has been in the wild. But if you have been waiting for the chance to blast away at your friends — and only your friends — in the Crucible, you won’t have to wait much longer.
Recommended Videos

In a recent update post on Bungie’s website, game director Christopher Barrett revealed that private multiplayer matches were in the works, with an estimated early 2018 release date. Currently, your only options for the Crucible are the casual “quickplay” and more intense “competitive” modes, both of which use matchmaking instead of invitations exclusively.

“We’ve been playing the game in the wild for seven weeks, and like the Destiny experiences that have come before, we’re always thinking about where the game is heading next,” Barrett said.

A number of other changes are being made to the Crucible, including adjusted scoring in the “Supremacy” game mode, as well as “better incentives for completing Crucible matches” and harsher penalties for those who quit.

On the cooperative and single-player front, Destiny 2 is also evolving over time. Bungie is working to reduce the number of duplicate Exotic gear drops, as well as better rewards for activities like Lost Sectors, Strikes, and adventures.

Currently, these activities offer rewards that aren’t particularly valuable to players with a Power Level over around 265, as the dropped items begin to plateau. Instead, players have to take part in Crucible matches, Flashpoints, Nightfall Strikes, the Leviathan raid, and Trials of the Nine in order to earn more powerful equipment.

Other changes coming to Destiny 2 in the future include new ways to spend Legendary Shards. Currently, they’re used to increase the level of an existing piece of gear, but not much else. There will also be new ways to spend “surplus currency,” so you won’t be walking around with thousands of unspent Glimmer in your inventory all the time.

Destiny 2 is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and as of October 24, PC. For tips on conquering the Crucible, check out our guide.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Destiny 2: The Final Shape’s new subclass combines light and dark
destiny 2 the final shape prismatic subclass 2024 tfs dev preview press kit prism hero art compressed 002

We finally got another look at the Destiny 2: The Final Shape expansion today via a new gameplay preview from Bungie. We learned more about the new Prismatic subclasses and other features coming to the expansion.

With the Prismatic subclass, players will be able to wield Light and Darkness powers. Each has a meter that fills up as players use that kind of attack. When both are filled, players enter a state called Transcendence, where players get a grenade ability unique to each class alongside other buffs.

Read more
Bungie plots Destiny 2: The Final Shape overhaul in wake of mass layoffs
Guardians stand together in Destiny 2: The Final Shape key art.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has broken its silence after laying off around 100 staff members earlier this week. The studio posted a blog update that acknowledged the move and teased a major change in plans for Destiny 2's next big DLC, The Final Shape.

On Monday, October 30, Bungie laid off a sizable chunk of its staff in departments including community, QA, audio, and more. According to a report from IGN, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons cited Destiny 2's declining performance in 2023 as a cause. A report from Bloomberg noted that Bungie's upcoming projects were internally delayed as part of the move, with The Final Shape quietly moving to June 2024.

Read more
Destiny 2 studio Bungie hit by layoffs, internal game delays
A runner runs in Marathon.

Amid a wave of layoffs at Destiny developer and Sony subsidiary Bungie this week, Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have both reportedly been delayed.
On Monday morning, tweets from developers revealed that Bungie, which was acquired by Sony in January 2022, was suffering layoffs. This was followed up by a report from Bloomberg that went into more detail about the layoffs and their impact on Bungie's future games. Sony and Bungie have not officially commented on the delays yet, although the Bloomberg article mentions that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons will hold a team meeting later today to discuss the layoffs further. This all follows contractor layoffs at Sony studio Naughty Dog earlier this month, which happened as that studio struggles to develop and release a The Last of Us multiplayer game. 

Bloomberg suggests that these layoffs, like others at Sony this year, are tied to internal game delays. While Destiny 2: The Final Shape is publicly slated to come out in February 2024, Bungie reportedly told staff that it's now going to come out in June 2024. Meanwhile, we learned that Bungie's revival of Marathon was apparently targeting a 2024 launch -- although no release window was given officially -- but will now come out sometime in 2025. These delays make the PlayStation 5's 2024 game lineup look pretty sparse right now outside of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it suggests that Destiny 2's next season will be one of its longest.
As of now, Sony and Bungie have not publicly commented on the layoffs or delays, but we will update this post when they do say more about it.

Read more