“No one is celebrating the fact that this has happened” – Warframe devs on Destiny 2’s “earth-shattering” death, and why the genre is weaker for it

In case you are unfamiliar with the sci-fi video game space, one of its giants has come to a sudden and tragic end. Destiny 2 – a juggernaut in the genre – will no longer be receiving updates from its developer Bungie. While fans have flocked back to celebrate the title, it is nonetheless the end of an era.

Its conclusion has left many of its players seeking refuge in other digital universes. Colder, calculating minds may see this as an opportunity for its competitors. However, the public-facing Warframe team – arguably working on Destiny’s most direct competitor – have been nothing but mournful.

“Truthfully, it’s heartbreaking. It’s earth-shattering. I never thought I’d ever see the day where I’d read an article from Bungie about Destiny 2 essentially shutting down,” community director and live ops lead Megan Everett told Eurogamer.

“I’m speaking personally, but I know people would echo it as well. No one is celebrating the fact that this has happened to Destiny, and its players and that story. I know that people have obviously compared us in terms of being ‘direct competitors’ and stuff like that. But I think a game is healthy when you have competitors, and [Destiny’s developers] have done such an amazing job at trying to grow that story regardless of whatever situation they were in.”

Soon after it was announced that Destiny 2 would be receiving its final update, Warframe’s creative director Rebecca Ford wrote on X that “there is no Warframe without the legacy of Bungie games”, pointing to her own history with both Halo and Destiny. She’d later announce an in-game honoria (account title cosmetic) that players could unlock that directly references Destiny, an homage to its peer.

Everett shares this stance. She pointed to the surge of support for Destiny 2 in the wake of its end-of-support announcement, and shared her bittersweet sentiments on the public reception to the game in recent years.

“I think what’s unfortunate and sad is they announced this was happening, and suddenly people are showing all this support for them. They’ve been getting a lot of negativity for all this time, and it’s like, where was all this love! People need to put the hate away and show the love, because they could have really used that. I know it was there, but it wasn’t as vocal as maybe some of the negativity.

“Overall, I hate to see that happen to them. I have close friends who play Destiny over Warframe, and ain’t mad about it. We have friends over there, to see this happen to them is devastating to the industry. No one saw Destiny going away. They had their ups and downs – we’ve had our ups and downs. People talk about the content drought and the railjack (space missions) – we all have scary days. To live in a reality where they’re gone isn’t a positive one.”

There have been some who have naturally seen this bad news for Bungie as good news for Digital Extremes. Warframe, having only recently released a new update, is building towards its annual Tennocon event where more reveals are planned and excitement around the game is electric.

Even so, Warframe developers have rejected such premises. Ford, in that aforementioned social media post, concluded with the line: “do not offer succor with comparison!” Again, a sentiment shared by Everett.

“I think we’re so used to seeing a Warframe and Destiny comparison almost every single day working on the community team. This can be a conversation that’s beneficial – seeing two games that are similar in the sci-fi ways, but are so different elsewhere, catering towards two very different crowds,” Everett says. “We tried the PvP thing, and we’re not a PvP game! If you’re coming to Warframe trying to scratch that itch, you’re going to have that itch for a long time.

“I think I would never say what has happened to Destiny is a good thing, even though it ‘eliminates a competitor’. That is not our mindset at all. I think competition is healthy. I think having games that are similar enough that the communities can come together and talk about both games, and maybe educate people on those games so people go to both, that’s not a bad thing. I’ve said for forever, I never expect anyone to only play Warframe. You would burn out so fast if you did. So having other games that scratch a similar itch is healthy for our genre. Having Destiny was healthy for us.”