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After a steady stream of bugs and missteps, Bungie announced that it would contract additional gameplay specialists for the studio. The role would help playtest Destiny 2, diving deep into the core systems and end game to identify any issues for Bungie.
While the news will undoubtedly sound good to those familiar with the state of Destiny 2, it’s avoidable not to note that this seems like a reactionary move from the studio after Episode: Revenant was haunted by bugs and missteps, likely a result of the studio’s diminished staff.
While the zombie Scorn army theme behind Episode: Revenant is superb, the content has been rife with issues. Destiny 2 doesn’t have a reputation for being squeaky clean, but issues like Weightgate, Tonicgate, and the most recent slew of Dawning issues have left the game in a sour state. Hopefully, the contracted testers can help Bungie regain some player faith or at least catch some of the prevalent issues squeezing through the cracks.
Some end-of-the-year hope
In an end-of-2024 communication, Bungie’s Destiny 2 assistant game director, Robbie Stevens, offered a little insight into what was happening behind the scenes at the studio. Noting that the team was hard at work on Codename: Frontiers, Stevens explained that communications detailing the upcoming expansion would stop for the immediate future.
Stevens also noted that Bungie was opening some Gameplay Specialist positions. The job description reads, “Our specialists, sourced from the community, will be in the trenches with the dev team playtesting the new Core Game progression and gameplay systems as well as Codename Apollo’s campaign and postgame. These specialists provide us with the kind of perspective you can only get from dedicated players.” They appear to be frontline testers, members of the community who are already familiar with Destiny 2 and able to quickly identify things that don’t appear right.
Looks like Bungie wants these candidates descending into the nitty-gritty of end game and pinnacle content to ensure the loot chase works as intended. Under “Responsibilities,” the role explains prospects will “Track and communicate objective feedback and issues with an eye towards both ritual specific, and game-holistic, improvements,” or, in other words, hunt down game-breaking bugs.
While it’s a bummer that these additions to Bungie’s team won’t be permanent, the added employee power may be exactly what the studio has needed since Episode: Revenant launched. Here’s hoping the extra help leads to a smoother launch for Frontiers and the franchise moving into the new year.
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