Bungie is uncertain about Destiny 2’s future esports potential

Despite the popularity of the Crucible PvP mode, it doesn’t look like we’ll get a Destiny 2 World Championship any time soon. Ever since Bungie started talking about PvP in Destiny 2, the developer has said that its focus is on making the experience more competitive. All modes are now four-on-four, and the gameplay is focused more on gun fights and team play than its predecessor ever was. Despite this, Destiny 2’s lead Crucible designer Lars Bakken had little information to share regarding the game’s future esports potential, when speaking with the Daily Star. “It’s something that we talk about a lot,” Bakken said of esports. “If they [the players] decided Destiny is a space that they want to love and prop up in that way, then that’s something we think we are interested in. But yes, I don’t want to presume that it is from the beginning.” The Destiny community has shown time and again that there is a want for a competitive scene. But there’s one huge problem standing in the way of Destiny 2’s esports scene getting started, and that is the fact that the game will not launch with private lobbies. It took two years after the launch of the original Destiny for the game to add private lobbies. Before that, players that wanted to play against or scrim each other in separately-run tournaments would need to launch into a game mode at the same exact time and hope to get matched up with each other. That type of setup does not bode well for the game’s competitive endeavors at launch. “Yes, we want to make the game feel more comfortable in a tournament setting, that was one of our goals but that doesn’t mean that we go straight to like world championships,” Bakken said. “I wish I could give you a definitive answer more than that but I think the reality is we want people to feel comfortable there first and if that’s something that they want and we have the ability to support it then we’d love to support it.” At the end of June, some members from Destiny’s Twitch community hosted GuardianCon, a meetup of the game’s content creating personalities and their fans. The event raised over $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and it culminated in a two day event at a convention center in Tampa, Florida. One of the highlights of the event was a four-on-four tournament of some of the game’s top players. There were shoutcasters, sponsors, and an excited crowd. The winners received a championship belt and a donation to the charity was made in their name. It was quite clear at GuardianCon that there is an interest for the game’s competitive side. Now the onus lies on Bungie to act—and give the community the tools they need to make it succeed.