Final Shape preorders lagging well behind Lightfall as Destiny 2 world holds its breath

Preorder figures for the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape are reportedly at an all-time low as uncertain players hold fire on their next investment into Bungie’s live-service shooter. The expansion, which originally would have been released today before delays, isn’t capturing the hearts and minds of fans just yet.

The numbers came via a Feb. 26 report from The Game Post, which used data from Destiny 2 third-party app Charlemagne to compare The Final Shape preorder counts to the last three expansions: Beyond Light, The Witch Queen, and Lightfall. Charlemagne specifically tracks the unique emblem each player earns when preordering the expansions—and the numbers don’t paint a pretty picture for the upcoming expansion.

Just over 400,000 players have preordered The Final Shape so far, according to the report—less than a quarter compared to Lightfall (2,249,679) and The Witch Queen (2,244,640), both of which trailed Beyond Light by almost a million players.

These numbers should be taken with a massive grain of salt: We’re three months out from the expansion’s release, and it’s important to note Charlemagne doesn’t count for the entire Destiny 2 player base as it cannot track private accounts, but it is noted that less than one percent of players fall into this bracket.

It makes sense why preorder figures are down; despite the hype, many were left disappointed by Lightfall’s offerings, and between this, a stale seasonal model, and the massive three-month delay to The Final Shape, fans are treading carefully when it comes to buying new expansions.

Not to be forgotten, November’s layoffs at Bungie, which saw eight percent of the company out of a job, left a sour taste in the community’s mouths, with some even canceling their preorder over worries the expansion would be delayed again or won’t satisfy expectations.

That’s not to say preorders may not rise as the Destiny 2 expansion’s release date closes in. We’re a little over three months away from The Final Shape’s release on June 4, so with a little more info about what’s to come with the conclusion of the Light and Darkness Saga, plenty more guardians will undoubtedly submit and preorder before it does finally live. Others are pot-committed: “I’ve been playing Destiny since beta, ain’t no wait I’m quitting right before the finish line,” one fan declared on the Destiny 2 subreddit this week.

To be clear, The Final Shape isn’t the end of Destiny 2—but should the long-standing Bungie game suffer through another Lightfall-level flop, it might as well be.