Bungie Expressed Interest in Developing Single-Player Games Over Live-Service Formats

Overview of Bungie’s Direction in Game Development

• Bungie developers reportedly have an interest in creating single-player experiences, yet these projects are not being approved by higher management.
• Even with the cancellation of several live-service games, Bungie’s focus remains fixed on this direction.
• The studio is actively working on new live-service titles, including the anticipated project, Marathon.

Recent discussions have emerged within the gaming community, indicating that Bungie developers are eager to explore single-player game concepts. However, the company’s leadership has reportedly dismissed these initiatives. Since the launch of Destiny 2 in 2017, Bungie has been a significant player in the live-service gaming arena, a trend that continues to flourish into 2025. This success may constrain the studio’s ability to diversify its portfolio beyond the live-service model.

Fans of the Destiny franchise have largely embraced its live-service format, which has maintained dominance in the genre for years. Anticipation for sequels remains high, but some players hold out hope for Bungie to return to its roots, focusing on single-player narratives. However, indications suggest that this shift may not happen in the near future.

Zuhaad Ali, the owner of Destiny Bulletin, has shared insights from his investigations that many Bungie developers are keen to create single-player focused titles. Despite their efforts to propose new projects that are intended to be less ambitious, with an eye on resource efficiency, these ideas have consistently faced rejection. As a result, it seems uncertain when or if Bungie will return to single-player gaming, especially with the upcoming title Marathon poised for release.

Desire for Single-Player Titles Among Bungie Developers

Something I heard when I was working on a story last year: A lot of Bungie devs were interested in returning to single-player projects, but leadership was firmly set on live service as the studio’s future. Even smaller, less risky projects/ideas would get immediately shut down. — Zuhaad Ali (@SZuhaadAliS) January 21, 2025

The push for live-service gaming at Bungie shows no signs of abating. In addition to working on Marathon, the studio is also developing a new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game, currently codenamed Gummy Bears. This project is being developed under one of PlayStation’s new studios and is said to be innovative, drawing comparisons with the popular Super Smash Bros. series while aiming to introduce fresh gaming mechanics.

Given the recent spate of canceled live-service titles, including Bungie’s own spin-off of Destiny known as Payback, it may be surprising to some that the studio is continuing to focus heavily on live-service games. Reports suggest that these cancellations stem from concerns over financial viability, as many anticipated projects may not recoup their development costs. Should this trend persist, it could potentially open the door for developers at Bungie to revisit and fully flesh out the single-player experiences that have reportedly been on the drawing board.

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