Activision-Blizzard can’t seem to go a single week without making headlines. After months of money issues, disappointing game announcements, unprecedented stock plummets, and saying goodbye to top executives, Bungie posted in their blog that the Activision name would no longer be on Destiny games. Bungie announced on January 10 that they would be parting ways with Activision as a publisher of the franchise.
According to the post, Bungie is “ready to publish on [their] own” after eight years of “[needing] the support of an established publishing partner.” In the post, they also made sure to thank Activision for everything they’ve done, but this all certainly comes as no big surprise. In 2018, Activision stated their unhappiness with the sales of Destiny 2: Forsaken, to which Bungie responded with a tweet stating that they concerned themselves with the happiness of Destiny players above all else and that they were satisfied with the performance of the expansion. In addition, it’s been reported that Bungie thought the schedule Activision tried to make them keep for releasing Destiny 2 content was too rapid of a pace for their liking.
Destiny 2
While it’s certainly easy for everyone to wonder what the fate of Destiny 2 is, my curiosity lends itself towards the potential doom overlooking Activision-Blizzard. I think one thing that Telltale’s shutdown has proven is that even a company that has released and continues to release games of a higher quality has no power in the face of money issues. The support of Activision-Blizzard’s investors is certainly in jeopardy, their chief financial officers are out of the building, and now they’ve lost a huge franchise with a crazy-loyal fanbase that had tons of money-making opportunity. This all goes without considering the fact that they already have money issues to deal with.
I think we could easily see the ends of two once respected and successful businesses, or at least their partnership. The good news for Activision is that they have a firm grasp on the first-person shooter genre with Call of Duty, but these days, as long as Blizzard is connected to them and they have their own turmoil, things could turn way south much faster than north. The only other saving grace in their back pocket is King which continues to make loads of money off their mobile empire.
Combined, the two companies are currently working on Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Diablo: Immortal, and supposedly a few other Diablo titles that could include Diablo IV. Is it possible for these games to spark a sort of resurgence for the company? I see the most hope in the one game on this list that hasn’t been announced, Diablo IV. With its passionate fans and addictive style, this could be the game that bounces them back. However, with no announcement, let alone a release date, I think it’s fair to assume that the company may not be able to wait that long. It could even lead to a hasty release of the game, although this is purely speculation at this point. Other than this, we’ll have to keep an eye on the success or failure of Sekir: Shadows Die Twice.
Bungie should just consider itself lucky that it is no longer tied to this mess, and I think I speak for everyone here at Sick Critic when I wish Bungie the best in their independence. This will hopefully lead to even better Destiny content in the future.
